King's Inheritance Read online

  Once inside Merlin is about to call for Tyrone, but he sees that there is no need because he is already waiting for him. Merlin bows deeply before he starts speaking. “Milord, everything is proceeding smoothly. Noryad has read the books he needed to read and now he knows he needs to be prepared to fight me.”

  “That is good my friend. He doesn’t expect me to be alive and that is a mistake. I hope he is the one we have been waiting for Merlin.”

  “Milord, there is no doubt that Noryad King is your successor. The Armor of Kings is already starting to appear on his body. Soon the Sword will start calling for him and he needs to be ready because there’s someone else in the castle, a Goddess, but she will not interfere with us. There is also a Soul Stealer who has been watching the Goddess, we may need to warn her, Milord.”

  Tyrone looks at Merlin and shakes his head. “No, Merlin. They need to stand up for themselves. The Goddess is one I never expected to see on earth, but that doesn’t change the fact that we cannot interfere with whatever was set in motion by the return of Noryad. He will come for the Sword; that is already destined. What we need to do is make sure we give him the welcome he deserves, or the beating, that is left to be determined.”

  ******

  As they are talking Noryad is heading back to the castle. He is filled with shame because he couldn’t defeat the warriors. He has known for a while that he has to train, he just didn’t know how much until tonight. Upon arriving back at the castle the souls of the dead surround him, but he cannot feel the royal family with them. He continues walking and sees Coral in front of him. She’s looking at him with hunger in her eyes, which she hides so quickly that if he hadn’t been focused on her eyes he would have missed it.

  He looks down at himself and notices that he isn’t wearing his shirt. He looks back at Coral and grins. “Hello, Coral. I was able to read the three books in four hours. If you need a place to stay you can take the room next to mine, it was the one my parents used. Good night, Coral, may your dreams be uninterrupted.”

  Noryad heads to his room and Coral follows him. Once they make it to their rooms they open the doors and close them without looking at each other. Noryad takes a quick shower and after he pulls on some loose pants he climbs into bed, where sleep gently overcomes him.

  Chapter 8

  Noryad’s eyes pop open, he senses someone watching him. He looks around the room and his eyes instantly land on Coral, who is sitting in a chair at the foot of his bed. He gets up faster than he thought possible and Coral grins at his reaction. “I am glad to know you are alive. You have been sleeping for half a day already.”

  “What? How is that possible?” He asks, but then realizes his powers must have taken him into a deep recovery sleep. “Excuse me for a moment,” he says then walks to the bathroom and shuts the door. When he comes out again he looks at Coral, who is still sitting in the same place she was when he left. “What now?” He asks bluntly.

  “Well now you need to train. Do you have a place you want to do it?”

  Noryad looks out of a window to the back side of the castle and sees the beach. He stares at the beach for a while and remembers the few times his brother took him to see how the water comes and goes. He looks back at Coral and grins. “I know the perfect place, follow me.” Then he opens the window and jumps out of it. Coral runs to the window and looks out to see if he is ok. When she sees that he made it safely to the ground by using his powers, she jumps down and at the last second she stops and gently touches the ground. Noryad whistles, impressed by her powers, before he turns around and heads to the beach. Coral follows him quietly.

  Once they make it to the beach Noryad takes off his shirt and sits on the sand to meditate. Coral watches as his powers start to increase and a white, smoky-looking glow surrounds him. Once he is completely surrounded he stands up and starts moving his staff-sword in swift movements, but she notices that he hasn’t moved from the spot he was in when he started. The faster his movements get the more out of control his powers become. He continues his rapid movements, despite knowing that he cannot control his powers, until he is sent flying backwards by his own powers.

  Coral sees when Noryad’s powers become too much and as he’s being thrown back she uses her powers to brace his fall. Noryad gets up and looks at Coral in frustration. “CARAJO!!” he yells using his native tongue, but Coral clearly hears him in English yell, “FUCK!!”

  Merlin, who has been watching him this whole time, has had enough and steps out from where he was watching. “Noryad King, are you seriously this weak? I have heard the stories of how you were able to defeat enemies by yourself in The Lost City. I may have to remain on this Godforsaken island, but my hand stretches far and wide. Do you want to control your powers?”

  Noryad looks at Merlin like he had lost his mind. “If I didn’t want to control them I wouldn’t be here, old man.”

  Merlin, his appearance reverting to his mature days, starts walking toward Noryad. As he passes him he brushes against his shoulder and says, “Follow me”, but once Noryad starts to move he feels an incredible force pushing him to the ground. The force is coming from Merlin and Noryad knows he can’t do anything to stop it, the old man is too strong for him. Even knowing this Noryad starts gathering his powers. Once he’s to the point where he lost control, his eyes turn completely blue and he manages to stand up. No longer in control of his body, Noryad starts to walk toward Merlin, intent on killing him. Merlin smiles before he notices that the dead are being called back to life to fight for Noryad. Merlin looks at Coral and yells, “We have to stop him before it is too late!”

  Coral watches in horror as the dead are being brought back to life by Noryad. When she hears the order coming from Merlin she focuses her attention on Noryad. “Stop! Don’t move or we will be forced to kill you.”

  Noryad looks at Coral, but continues to walk toward Merlin. Merlin locks his eyes on Noryad and shakes his head. “If this is how you want it then so be it,” and starts to form a ball in his hands. Noryad starts running toward Merlin as he finishes forming the ball and throws it. Noryad puts his hand in font his face for protection, but once the ball touches him it becomes smoke. Noryad inhales it, which makes him loose consciousness. Merlin looks at Coral and says, “Bring him with us.”

  Coral picks Noryad up using her magic and follows Merlin, neither of them notice that Blake is following them from afar.

  Chapter 9

  Coral follows Merlin, using her magic to carry Noryad, to what seems like an abandoned church. Once inside, Coral notices the warding on the walls and looks at Merlin in confusion. “What do they do?”

  “They serve many purposes. They have the ability to limit a magic user to just the amount of power he is able to control. They can help him learn to control the power he already possesses. They also protect the church, no matter how much magic is used in here it won’t destroy the place. Within these walls Noryad will not be able to use more power than he can control and his body will slowly start to adapt to the changes, but he has to train fast”

  “I agree he needs to train quickly. There is a disturbance coming this way and he has got to be ready.” She looks to where Noryad is laying on the floor and notices that he is sluggishly waking up.

  “What happened?” Noryad asks as he gets into a sitting position.

  Merlin chuckles a little. “Mr. King, I am glad you have decided to wake up. The next time you try to defy me you won’t be getting off so easily. I made you lose consciousness, but I would have been forced to kill you if you were able to push me. You weren’t because you don’t have control over your newfound powers.”

  Noryad, ashamed of what happened on the beach, lowers his head. When he looks back up he looks around the place and sees that he is in a church. “What are we doing here?”

  “We are here to train you,” Merlin answers calmly. “Within these walls I am able to unleash my true potential, and in time you will be able to also.”

  Noryad smiles at the i
dea of being able to control his powers. “When are we going to start my training?”

  Merlin smiles broadly, “We begin now.”

  Coral steps aside and leans against a wall to watch the fight as Merlin talks to Noryad. “No weapons allowed because we know that you are better than me in that area, but I will train you in that, too. For now we will start with combat magic”.

  Noryad gets ready for a fight with the best mage this earth has ever known. He gathers his powers and knows he can control them, thanks to the warding’s on the church walls. He starts by throwing force spheres at Merlin and Merlin patiently deflects the attack. Noryad’s attack goes on for an hour, but he is unable to do any damage to Merlin.

  Merlin looks at Noryad and grins evilly, “My turn” Suddenly the church starts to tremble and Merlin starts attacking Noryad. Noryad, left with no choice but to evade, runs until he gets tired. Merlin takes advantage of his fatigue and continues to attack him until Noryad can’t take anymore and falls to the floor.

  Merlin stops his attack on Noryad and says, “Now you see, Mr. King, you are weak.”

  Once Merlin is finished talking they look back at Coral and see she has brought some food. They eat in silence for a few minutes before Noryad asks Merlin a question. “You were there when King Arthur died?”

  Merlin looks at Noryad and answers. “If you read the three books you took from the library you know that I was and that he is your ancestor. Not directly because of his Camelot linage, but from Tyrone’s linage.”

  Noryad nods his head. “I got it. I take it that you and I will be seeing each other daily, at least until I have taken control of my powers.”

  Merlin smiles wickedly. “Yes. I will be beating you up until you defeat me and are ready for the true fight, but for now I am leaving.”

  Merlin gets up and leaves. Noryad goes to stand up, but almost falls and Coral puts her body against his so he can lean on her. The moment their bodies touch the sensations return like a volcano ready to consume everything around it. They keep walking despite the feelings that are running through them and when they arrive at the Castle they head directly for his room. Coral leads Noryad into his room and takes off most of his clothes, setting him on his bed. When she sees his body she slowly runs her hand across his chest and her throat gets dry. She wants to taste him, but when she looks at him she sees that he has fallen asleep. Flustered, she gets up and heads to her own room. Once there she takes a cold shower to calm the raging inferno running through her body. When she’s as calm as she’s going to get she heads to bed and slowly drifts off to sleep where dreams of Noryad and his body over take her mind.

  Chapter 10

  A Few Weeks Later

  Blake has been following Coral for weeks, the entire time she has been in the castle, and nothing has happened, but he has been careful. The old man knows he’s there, but hasn’t done anything so he has been making preparations to start attacking the souls of the dead. He has also been going to Albert to report, no matter how boring the information may be. Albert is getting inpatient with him, he hasn’t said anything but the annoyance shines out of his eyes every time they talk. Blake has chosen to continue doing his job as he is doing it because things like this take time and Albert can’t expect him to do his job in only a short time.

  For the last few weeks Noryad has been training with Merlin. His body has gotten stronger, his power has increased and the length of time he is able to control it has grown. He has been able to defend himself some of the time. He knows he has started to control his power and that he has shown signs of progress because Merlin has praised him for his advancement.

  Merlin has training in healing, controlling the elements, attacking mentally, communicating telepathically, sword fighting, using animated corpses and even altering his appearance. He can go from young to old and back again without any effects on his body or mind. He has shown Noryad all of this, as well as how to control his powers as a seer. Coral has been helping a lot in that aspect, too.

  Noryad knows there’s more. He has been hearing something calling to him each night when he goes to bed. Despite being so tired he can hardly move, there’s something compelling about the call, but it doesn’t interrupt his dreams. It just continues for a while then simply stops, like it was never there to begin with.

  Noryad knows it has been two or three weeks since he left, but it feels like such a shorter length of time. He needs to deliver a message to Drake, but he knows Drake doesn’t want to see him. He has to though, or his brother will be lost forever.

  Since he arrived home he has gotten close to Coral. They have been talking and sharing some details of their lives. He discovered she is six hundred years old and how many times she has tried to save the world from falling into this constant war. Also about her being chosen to become the Goddess of Fate and taking her best friend, Bryan, with her.

  During his training he has been meditating to control his powers as a seer and Coral is helping him learn how to focus on one specific person and watching them from afar. He has been paying more attention to his family back in the Guild and during one of these sessions he focuses on Rick Blaze. He learns of a fallen angel named Nayarith being added to the Guild and gets the news that the attack from the Destroyers is already in motion. He knows he must act fast if he is going to help his brothers.

  For a short time Noryad listens to Vince give his speech to the Guild about the attack that approaches. Then he hears Drake, being the asshole he is, storm out of Vince’s office. Now his attention shifts to Selene and he is about to say something to Coral about the things happening in the Guild, but he stops suddenly when he hears Selene’s voice in his head wondering what he would have done. Using his power, he looks back to find out what she’s referring to.

  Once he understands he already knows what she must do and how it would help them all in the long run. He contacts her mentally, Take the job Selene. This is where your real mission starts. Don’t forget that you were ordered by your sensei to watch over Drake. Now is your chance and face it, you need the proximity to see who he really is. There’s more to him than what meets the eye. Goodbye Selene, watch over him. Your answers lie with him.

  After he pulls out of her head he starts paying closer attention to the conversation going on. He hears Vince and Blaze trying to get Selene’s attention and then he hears Selene say, “Noryad just contacted me. It seems he’s paying close attention to what we’re talking about, but what he said was for my benefit. I’ll take the job Vince, but I will do it my way and as I see fit. You know I don’t take orders well from anyone. I will keep reporting my movements to you, but if I’m far away you will have wait till I come back for my reports.”

  Vince looks at her and nods his head in approval, “Very well Selene, I won’t interfere. We will do it your way. Thank you for agreeing to do this.”

  Blaze, with a slightly shocked expression, looks at Vince and says, “Well now that that’s over I want to propose an idea.”

  “I’m listening Blaze.”

  “Why don’t we make some spheres that can record what we want to record? We can make them so only the ones who have the code can listen to the recording and the one who made the recording can give the code to whomever they choose. The person can leave his signature. For example, he can infuse his power so only one person or a few selected people can open it. It all depends on the owner of the sphere.”

  “That’s a very good idea Blaze.” Vince says, “I will have Brock begin working on the spheres right away.”

  Before Vince is finished speaking Blaze disappears and returns a few minutes later with Brock. Vince, who is still sitting in his office with Selene, explains Blaze’s idea to Brock. Brock, with a huge smile on his face, looks at Vince and says, “I have been working on something similar to this for some time now, but couldn’t get it quite the way it needed to be. You just gave me the key idea that I needed to make it happen. They will be ready before the tournament.” With that Brock quickly leaves the
office to get to work.

  Vince looks at Selene and Blaze with a serious expression on his face, “What’s waiting to be unleashed will take all of us to stop and I’m going to need everyone I know I can count on fighting beside me. I wish I hadn’t sent Noryad away, he’s what we need right now. He is the best in the Guild when it comes to strategizing.”

  Noryad pulls himself from the conversation and stops mediating. He looks up to find Coral watching him intently. “I need you to deliver a message to Vince for me and then give this small magical ear piece to Doctor Dana Stone and let her know that I will have to contact her soon. I have to see Drake now.” Noryad tells her as he magically creates two ear pieces, one for him and for her to give to Dana, before transforming his appearance into that of an old man and opening the portal heading back to The Lost City. Once he’s gone Coral teleports to The Lost City and straight into Vince’s office.

  Coral appears as Vince is saying Noryad’s name and he gets up and bows respectfully to her, “To what do we owe this pleasure, Coral?”

  Coral, returning Vince’s bow, replies, “Well Vince Sky, Champion of Champions, I am here to tell you that Noryad will return, but only when the need is great. I am keeping a close watch over him, so you need not worry.”

  Vince looks at her and says, “Thank you, Coral, I appreciate that. I will trust you to keep Noryad safe for us, we need him too much to lose him.”

  “You won’t lose him. Humanity needs him; we all need him, too much for that.” Coral replies, then she disappears as quickly as she appeared.

  A moment later Coral appears in front of Dana Stone, the head healer of the Guild, startling her. Once she recovers a little Dana gives Coral an annoyed look and asks, “To what do I owe this pleasure and who the hell are you?”