The Caged Kingdom Read online

  The Caged

  Kingdom

  M. A. PRICE

  Books by M. A. Price

  THE UNFORGIVEN SERIES

  The Caged Kingdom

  The Heir to Chaos – July 2019

  Ivloch – Novella

  BOOK ONE:

  The Caged Kingdom

  M A Price

  Copyright © 2019 by M. A. Price

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN Number: 978-1-9160965-0-9

  Cover design by Mark Skinner

  Edited by Gail Nkopuruk

  Published by Thirteen Worlds Press.

  First Edition Print.

  www.mapricewriting.com

  Dedication:

  For anyone who has ever needed an escape into a fantasy world…

  I hope this one helps.

  CONTENTS

  One – Elex

  Two – Mara

  Three - Katanya

  Four - Mara

  Five - Jaxon

  Six - Mara

  Seven – Camrin

  Eight - Katanya

  Nine - Camrin

  Ten – Jaxon

  Eleven - Katanya

  Twelve - Mara

  Thirteen - Katanya

  Fourteen - Mara

  Fifteen - Jaxon

  Sixteen - Katanya

  Seventeen - Jaxon

  Eighteen - Mara

  Nineteen - Jaxon

  Twenty - Mara

  Twenty-One - Katanya

  Twenty-Two - Jaxon

  Twenty-Three - Mara

  Twenty-Four - Jaxon

  Twenty-Five - Camrin

  Twenty-Six - Jaxon

  Twenty-Seven - Katanya

  Twenty-Eight - Camrin

  Twenty-Nine - Mara

  Thirty - Jaxon

  Thirty-One - Mara

  Thirty-Two - Jaxon

  Thirty-Three - Mara

  Thirty-Four - Jaxon

  Thirty-Five - Katanya

  Thirty-Six - Jaxon

  Thirty-Seven - Mara

  Thirty-Eight - Katanya

  Thirty-Nine - Mara

  Forty - Katanya

  Forty-One - Jaxon

  Forty-Two - Katanya

  Forty-Three - Camrin

  Forty-Four - Katanya

  Forty-Five - Mara

  Forty-Six – Katanya

  Forty-Seven - Mara

  Forty-Eight - Katanya

  Forty-Nine - Jaxon

  Fifty - Katanya

  Fifty-One - Mara

  Fifty-Two - Camrin

  Fifty-Three - Katanya

  Fifty-Four - Camrin

  Fifty-Five - Katanya

  Fifty-Six - Jaxon

  Fifty-Seven - Katanya

  Fifty-Eight - Mara

  Fifty-Nine - Katanya

  Sixty - Jaxon

  Sixty-One - Katanya

  Sixty-Two - Mara

  Sixty-Three - Katanya

  Sixty-Four - Mara

  Sixty-Five - Katanya

  Sixty-Six - Mara

  Sixty-Seven - Katanya

  Sixty-Eight - Mara

  Sixty-Nine - Katanya

  Seventy - Camrin

  Seventy-One - Katanya

  Seventy-Two - Jaxon

  Seventy-Three - Mara

  Seventy-Four - Jaxon

  Seventy-Five - Mara

  Extract from the Book of the Lands - published on the Moon Cycle of the creation of Brodanna by High Priestess Adyra George.

  Inscription can also be found on the tomb of Queen Kara of the Blessed Blood, located in Tonkara

  .

  We lived on Earth as one.

  It was The Curse that caused us to leave.

  A sickness that swept the world; to reveal those with an unknown, only guessed upon gift.

  We could wield fire, we could heal, and we could move things with our minds.

  Some said we were stronger, better. Some said we were evil, an abomination hidden in their ranks.

  Some said we were as old a tale as time itself.

  They said it was magic; they proclaimed us a danger.

  We did not want to burn like our ancestors, so we fled.

  We left and we flourished.

  Seven worlds to grow on, our power unleashed, infinite as we could be.

  We created utopia.

  Generations of power, diplomacy, and wonder.

  Then we turned on each other; planets burned, and we died.

  We will not wipe out those responsible; we are better than that, better than them…

  But they will not live among us.

  They will be cursed forever more, sent away to seal their own fates.

  All who wish to travel with them may.

  To strive or perish will be their choice.

  They will be the people of Brodanna.

  One – Elex

  Death had walked beside her since she could lift a blade. It came to her as a friend, in the bleak of the night or when the sun was highest in the sky. It always felt like coming home. She was its weapon, its glory, and its fuel. The only constant companion she had ever known.

  Tonight, it would also be her last.

  The Facility where she had been undercover for half a year, six whole moon turns, raged above her. Wielders who worked for the King, fighting the men and women she had spent her life beside. Scared prisoners, taken for their power, running whilst they had the chance. A fleeting possibility of escape better than a life of misery as a slave.

  She had always known this battle would take place. Her time here, her own idea. Kara’s Guild had reluctantly accepted the plan.

  War had been brewing on Brodanna for a very long time and anything that gave them a chance to protect its people was a risk worth taking.

  The people she loved would be above, searching for her and their objective, an artefact of great power The Guild was sworn to protect. Somewhere in this fortress was the sword of the martyred Queen Kara. The very same Kara who had given her life to cast the spell which would keep their world safe from the predations of The Unforgiven. The incantation that had made Elex Carter’s existence a misery.

  The relic had been in the hands of their enemy for too long. If rumours were true, they also possessed one of the Guardians, held in a matching Facility outside Torlung. If they found the others, if they had known of the Mark that had, until recently, adorned her flesh... She shuddered at the thought...

  It would have meant the plan brought her enemy another step closer to escaping and having the power to lower the barrier that protected their world. The previous attempt had been why Kara was forced to pay such a price. A cost that had only passed to Elex. It had been a dangerous game, but one she needed to play.

  Navigating the winding building had been easier than she predicted. The King's Men and Users were preoccupied with the incoming attack, shouts of anger or bewilderment that The Guild had passed their defences coming from every direction. Her power, so diminished compared to what it had been, still rallied to her aid.

  Every door that remained locked had sprung open at her touch. Elex had made her way through four levels, pausing only to assist any still-detained captives.

  She knew where she had to go. Where this entire plan had really been leading her all along. Prince Hamill Landress would be on the basement level with his devoted guards.

  The eldest of the King's children had been one of the first The Unforgiven claimed. The man
he was before, gone.

  He would never normally have set foot in such a place. It was, after all, a glorified supply store. One that the detainees here were forced to work in. Labour which had to occur, regardless of any injuries suffered at the hands of the Facilities’ guards or the Users they forced to do their bidding. Even when the test drugs ran through their systems or after moons of torture. There was no escape, no help, no reprieve. Her fists tightened at the memories of the cruelty she had been forced to see.

  The atrocities which had been allowed to occur across Brodanna all in King Jefferson's name.

  A guard leaped out at her as she neared the stairs which would take her to the Prince. She reached for a weapon she didn’t have. An old habit. One she would never perform again.

  He came at her with an axe, bringing it down in a blow intended for her head, but she swung her body to the left and dodged the assault. He roared and advanced again.

  She gave him no chance to touch her as she summoned her favourite party trick. Whirls of dark steel formed in her hands. They were darting for his neck before he had time to lift the axe again. His body fell at her feet as her blades dissolved from existence.

  “May The Transmitter rest your soul,” she cooed, stepping over the corpse.

  Time was running out. The fighting would be getting closer. Ivloch and Camrin would have realised she had lied to them by now. They may have even found Mara. She hoped they had found the girl. If Xave got to her first…

  Elex reached for the handle and pulled. It didn’t budge. Another will of the heat inside her. It flew open, nearly knocking her from her feet. The harsh light gave her a headache as she started to descend the perfectly white staircase.

  Every journey must reach an end.

  ***

  The Transmitter had taken her ancestors from Earth. A journey she couldn’t imagine. Whoever he or they were had provided for the people. Ships which carried thousands away from a hatred that had swept their home. New planets provided for them to live on.

  If only there had been a thought to remove their humanity whilst they were there.

  The Seven Worlds had not been enough. The law and order of magic didn’t provide some with enough power, so they wished to rewrite it. If magic was what their gifts really were. Some called it an evolution, others a fluke. The M word had simply been an outdated idea which stuck. She could understand why some hated it but it didn’t bother her. She was who she was. A label would not change that. It never had.

  Brodanna came after the war. A cage for the criminals who had caused so much destruction, all for their own gain. A place her ancestors had decided to go, like so many did. She hated them.

  If they hadn’t made such an awful decision, this destiny would never have been hers. She could have lived to a ripe old age with a pretty garden and Camrin by her side.

  The notion made her laugh as she reached the final step. An equally luminous corridor stretched before her. Life would have never worked out that way and The Transmitter had abandoned her.

  She refused to let herself think of Camrin, instead she focused on moving forward. Her bare feet freezing on the white stone floor. Katanya, the only person who had known she had changed the plan, would be horrified if she knew her sister was to die without a good set of boots on her feet. Kat wouldn't be above, she was no longer with The Guild and had refused to ever take their holy vow. It would have been nice to see her one last time.

  Katanya would only do her bit once Elex was gone.

  She would also be enraged when she discovered Elex had deceived her, but Elex was owed a debt, an obligation she had called in to get the help she needed.

  Kat had been the only logical half-accomplice. Despite the dishonesty, she would do what she must. That was what mattered.

  Even if none of them would ever know why.

  There were three rooms here. She had to move quickly or everything she wanted to achieve would fail. Worse, her friends might find her. All her lies uncovered and a future she could not face. Would not face.

  Her feet glided forward, the chill spreading through the red overalls she was forced to wear. She reached up and pulled the matching twine from her blonde hair letting it fall around her shoulders and over the arch of her back. She loved her hair. The feel of it, the things she could do with it, the way Camrin sniffed it... It should be free for what was to come.

  She caught sight of her naked wrist as she lowered her arm. It looked so empty without the Mark that she had been born with. The matching one which had scrolled across her abdomen would also be gone. She had used her abilities to hide them whilst stuck here and adjusted, to an extent, to the sight of them missing. She knew this time they would not be coming back. Their power and meaning rested with someone else now.

  She was no longer Marked by Kara. The Guild had no obligation to protect her anymore. The blood of Brodanna’s queen no longer etched itself in her veins. She would die a simple Wielder.

  Mara Lars was hopefully upstairs being rescued. Ivloch would find the Marks on the young woman and understand. He was one of the few left in Brodanna who knew the entire truth of The Unforgiven and Kara’s sacrifice. He would also know Elex had known this was coming, hopefully her note would help him understand her choice.

  Kara’s chosen and the five Guardians who were sworn to protect her had an inherent alarm system built into their Marks. A day’s warning that their death was imminent; whether that be by natural causes, their own choice or an enemy’s blade. They could pass their Mark on in that time if they knew a worthy recipient, as she herself had done, or they could die with it belonging to them. Kara’s spell would search the land and discover who was ready to take the mantle.

  A system that would never end until The Unforgiven were vanquished, not just concealed, so Brodanna may have a chance to flourish. Kara’s only option meant their return one day, a future generation destined to fight them. Little had she known that Users would become rarer and rarer under the barrier that protected them, or that a ruthless king, an ill-deserving descendent of her bloodline would help them achieve such a thing. If only that time hadn't been Elex's.

  She had reached the first room to her left. It was empty. The usual uniforms stacked high, User-resistant handcuffs scattered across the desk, weapons along the wall. She considered taking one but decided against it. Her power may be diminished but she did not expect it to fail her or the legacy she would leave behind.

  A legacy which should have been better. She was never going to be the ideal face of a rebellion. Too prone to half-truths and letting those she loved down. But there were so many things she could have done...

  Another empty room to the right contained nothing but food rations and files. Hamill would be in the last room, mere metres away. Her brain kept calling him Hamill, but she knew he wasn’t the King’s son anymore.

  She would never understand how the King had offered up his first-born as a host, a prized gift to form an alliance of hatred that would spiral the world into war.

  A war she would no longer be a part of.

  Neither would Hamill Landress.

  He would be stronger and more powerful than her, of that she was certain. There had never been an intention to walk away from this fight. The only hope was that she would be able to take him with her. One last gift to The Guild.

  His visit here had been planned as long as her time in the Facility. The final card to fall into place. She hadn’t told Ivloch. He was hers to take, the thing that she needed.

  Elex had never planned to leave the Tonkara Facility alive, but she sure as hell wanted to go out on her own terms.

  She moved to the door of the third room, willing her power to be ready. One last dance, together.

  She had discovered she was dying a year ago. There were pains that wouldn’t leave. A visit to an Unpowered healer in Wylow, one she knew could be trusted, had confirmed her fears. Power could accomplish many things, but it could rarely heal the flesh. There had been nothing anyone could do
.

  The Guild didn’t know. Camrin didn’t know.

  She was their hope. How could they see a future where the one vow they put above all else could not be held? They could not protect her from nature’s intentions.

  She had learnt to hold a blade as soon as she was able to wield her power like one. If she had to die, then she would die with it in her hands. The dark steel formed as it had before. They would do her bidding and not fail her.

  She was Elex Carter, the ferocious former holder of Kara’s Mark and to hell with anyone who ever said different.

  She kicked open the door…

  Death was to be her first and final friend.

  Proclamation law 12, on the order of King Jefferson Landress, 8th Ruler of Brodanna, issued one hundred and twenty full moon turns ago. Placed into Immediate and continuous effect:

  All Users or those with User Blood are to report, upon reading this, to the nearest King’s station.

  On arrival Users will be catalogued and registered.

  Each User will be issued their own identifying number.

  All User usage is hereby banned, without registration or direct order from the King or King’s Men.

  Any Brodanna citizen found to be an unregistered User will be detained and punished.

  All unregulated User power usage will be monitored and acted upon.

  Users’ families will also be held and tested for an indefinite amount of time.

  All Users must display their number and carry Paperwork always.

  Any person found harbouring a User will also face penalty.

  If any of these laws are found to be broken or ignored, then all those guilty will face punishments up to and including:

  - Execution.

  - Time in a Facility.

  - Draft into the King’s labour.

  The King’s Men are to have all authority in these matters and can be challenged by none bar King Jefferson Landress himself.

  May The Transmitter bless your soul.