A Crown Of War (Book 4) (38 page)

As Whill approached Felspire, he realized the grandeur of the army Eadon had summoned to him. Like a dark stain upon the snow-covered earth, the army spread around the base of Felspire in a wide circle. Thousands of draquon swarmed the towering spire, circling with the churning of the storm clouds about its crown. To the south, the elven armies approached, undoubtedly led by Zerafin. Their numbers were greater than Whill had expected, thousands more than had come with them through the portal to Del’Oradon. He was also surprised to see an army of Elgar dwarves to the west. For them to have made it to Felspire, they would have had to begin their march at least a week ago. He was heartened to think they had set out immediately after Eadon’s proclamation. To the east, he saw the gathered armies of the Ky’Dren dwarves: Ky’Ell had kept his word.

His
allies numbered in the tens of thousands, but Eadon’s armies were many times more. Whill knew the fate of them all, indeed, the fate of all of Agora, lay in his hands.

He
was terrified.

Never
before had he cursed his fate more than he did at that moment. Never before had so many stood by his side.

Never
before had he felt so alone.

*

Dirk, Krentz, and Raene spied Felspire and the Draggard armies from the high ridge of jutting stone, under the cover of Krentz’s concealment spell. The ridge was high enough for Dirk to view the many armies advancing upon Felspire, and the huge Draggard force at the base. He had thought perhaps a chance for victory remained, albeit a slim chance. Now, he was not so sure. Eadon’s forces outnumbered the allied races three to one, and, when he gazed upon the looming spire before him, he knew nothing but despair. Eadon’s power was beyond all comprehension; surely greater than the power Whill’s lone sword held.

They
had been scouting the battlefield for two days, and had watched with growing foreboding as the dark armies gathered from all directions. Dirk and Krentz had argued in private about the futility of fighting on the side of Whill and his allies. He believed Whill would fail. Eadon had set this all in motion eons ago; he could not be stopped. She argued they had to try.

“
To what end?” Dirk had asked the night before. “What is to be gained by risking our lives for those who would not even welcome us to their side?”

“
Must it always be about gain with you?” asked Krentz. “Look what he has done to me!” she said with open arms.

Dirk
took her raised hands and held them in his. “He is beyond our power, beyond anyone’s. Eadon will succeed in his plot. We have helped where we could. We should be far from here,”

“
And where would we go?” she pressed. “If he attains the two blades, there will be nowhere to hide in Agora.”

“
Then we should leave. Your people have discovered other lands across the seas, you said so yourself.”

“
We have not the means or the direction to do so. Would you so quickly abandon your own people?”

“
I have no people,” Dirk reminded her.

“
Then, go if you like. But I intend on doing what I can. I will see my father pay for his sins.”

“
Krentz…” he said, reaching for her as she turned from him. His hand went through her arm and she stalked off.

“
I can command you back here with the trinket!” he yelled after her.

Krentz
stopped and whirled around on him, shocked. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“
Wouldn’t I?” he teased.

She
crossed her arms and offered him a cocked brow and a distasteful look. He approached her, offering hands of truce.

“
I believe Eadon means to become Whill, and I think he will succeed. Whill has the power of Adromida, but he is far from a master of anything but impulse,” he explained.

“
Then, we must warn him,” Krentz insisted.

Dirk
knew he would not win this one, and they were both likely doomed. She insisted they get in the middle of a dogfight, one in which the dogs wielded ancient blades of incredible power. Dirk’s instincts screamed at him to flee this battlefield. There was only death and destruction to come. But, he could not leave his Krentz.

*

              The Sun Elves of Elladrindellia filed toward Felspire and fanned out east and west. The river of energy below raged violently. Its hum caused the stones upon bare patches of windblown earth to dance and vibrate. Eadon had tapped into the power of the ley lines, and the air hung thick with its power. The sun elves would not take from the flowing power, but they would accept what was offered. They opened their hands to the magic-rich air and absorbed the pulsing energy around them. The Krundar utilized the power within the earth, and caused mammoth creatures of stone to rise up. Druids flung sparkling seeds from their pouches that sprang roots in mid-air, and, fueled by water weavers, took root and grew into writhing plant creatures with long, reaching vines. Others conjured creatures of living flame, and swirling pools of water. Druids turned to bears, panthers, wolves, eagles, hawks, and even small dragons. The Zionars among them began to target the minds of their victims, and, then, upon finding the minds of the dark elf Zionars protecting the feeble-minded Draggard, they began to size each other up, planning attacks and counter-attacks, building their defenses, and preparing mental retreats. The Aklenar Seers walked among the elves, touching foreheads and reading futures: they gave warning where they saw ill fate. The Seers were often generals as well, as they were best able to predict the outcome of military maneuvers. They were mentally linked to their subordinates, and could warn or instruct more efficiently. The network of thought strings was also protected by many Zionar. The master healers cast their many enchantments upon the others, and created connections to those that they were responsible for healing.

Zerafin
looked to the sky beyond Felspire, to the northeast. He had seen a quick reflection many miles off. He looked with his mind sight and saw the unmistakable energy signature of the blade, Adromida. It streaked across the sky like a comet, surging toward Felspire. The dark elves would see it as well.

“
Prepare yourselves!” he commanded his army.

The
stone creatures slammed the ground before them causing it to rumble and shake; they pounded their chests and punched their palms. The plant creatures twisted their vines in tight and crouched like cats ready to leap after their pray. The conjured fireballs and globes of swirling water grew in size, and energy shields erupted with a crackling report around their conjurers.

*

Ky’Ell looked across the barren plains of jutting rock and crystal, beyond the spire. There, to the west, he saw the dwarven armies of the Elgar spread out north and south. The red banners flapped angrily amid the ocean of pointed halberds. The Elgar Dwarves had come to his call. He had sent runners immediately after learning of the rift. He guessed that they too had been invaded, but, regardless, it had been agreed upon by the dwarf kings, in light of the taking of the Ro’Sar Mountains twenty years before.

He
looked to the sky as something caught his eye. A streak of fire was flying toward Felspire at great speeds. He saw the elves begin to prepare for battle to the south, and informed his dwarves to do the same. Whill had arrived.

Whill
came in low to the ground from the northeast, over snow covered ridges and long stretches of prairie. He did nothing to hide his approach, but came in so fast that flames began to rage against his energy shield. He poured the power of Adromida into those flames and was soon hurtling toward Felspire.

He
had no words for Eadon; the time for words was over. Now was the time of reckoning. Whill would hit them with everything he had.

The
power coursing through Felspire surged, causing the brilliant shaft to glare brightly in a multitude of colors. Whill let loose his pent up energy upon the gathered Draggard hordes at the base of the spire. From his outstretched left hand, fire rained down on the Draggard, and in his wake was left nothing but ash as his flames turned to a concentrated beam that decimated all it fell upon.

He
let up on his spell when he approached the elves, and, flying over them, turned to make another pass. His attack had spurred the allied armies to charge; even from his high vantage point, he could hear the war cries of the two dwarven armies as they eagerly charged into the Draggard forces. The elven creatures of stone and vine, fire and water, charged before their handlers and crashed into the Draggard and dark elves.

As
Whill came in for another pass, he scoured the impossibly large spire before him. Felspire boasted hundreds of ridges and crystal balconies, but Whill did not see Eadon upon any of them. He knew the dark elf was there somewhere, watching, waiting.

Spells
erupted from both the sun elves and the dark elves. They streaked across the sky in a multitude of brilliant colors, some colliding, others being absorbed by shields, and some hit their mark. Explosions shook the ground as the armies collided, and Whill knew many good elves and dwarves would die that day.

Whill
passed the Draggard and dark elf armies once again and rained death and destruction down upon them. Felspire surged with power, and a brilliant beam of light shot from the base and slammed into Whill’s energy shield. Adromida countered the power with its own, but the blast sent Whill hurtling to the ground, unconscious.

He
woke, bewildered, and found himself surrounded by thousands of Draggard and dark elves. Eadon approached from Felspire with a victorious grin upon his face. Whill rose and stepped out of the crater his crash landing had created. He unsheathed Adromida and held the sword before him.

Eadon
stopped fifteen feet before him, and tossed three glimmering diamonds to the scorched earth. Whill flinched back, thinking it an attack, but the three diamonds hit the ground and flashed with quick light. There, between him and Eadon, floated Roakore, Avriel, and Tarren. They were surrounded by a pulsing force field that held them aloft, bound by invisible chains. Eadon walked to stand beside Tarren, who slowly spun in place within the spell cage.

“
Have you come to surrender the power of Adromida?” Eadon asked with an air of superiority.

Whill
answered by shooting a thin beam of power at Eadon. It was the most concentrated spell he had ever conjured, and he poured more of Adromida into it than ever before. Eadon raised but a hand, and absorbed the piercing blast effortlessly.

“
Very well,” he grinned, and laid a hand upon Tarren’s head.

“
Let go, and you shall know peace,” Tarren told Whill with a smile, and his body disintegrated before Whill’s eyes.

“
No!” Whill cried and was blasted by another surge of power from Felspire.

He
flew back through the air as Eadon turned to lay his deadly hand upon Avriel’s head. Whill landed among the Draggard and came up swinging like a madman, his blade glowing with the brilliance of the sun as it cut through his enemies.

*

Dirk, Krentz, and Raene flew over the battleground with their heads low, spells shot past in every direction, some exploding next to them, others missing by inches. Fyrfrost did well to avoid most of them, but Krentz’s energy shield still saved the dragon-hawk from many.

Whill
had been blasted from the air by Felspire, and now stood facing Eadon.

“
Faster, Fyrfrost, before it is too late!” Krentz urged as she fought to hold the energy shield in place against the stray spells.

Dirk
saw Eadon kill one of his three prisoners, and Felspire hit Whill once more. At the same time, a dark elf spell exploded in Fyrfrost’s face and Krentz gave a cry. The blast had come from the spire and torn through her shield. Blood flew from Fyrfrost as he flailed through the sky. They fell, end over end, and Dirk leapt from the saddle as Krentz turned to mist and helped slow his descent. Raene and Fyrfrost crashed into the Draggard as Dirk landed among them, twenty feet from Whill.

Krentz
was a blur of sword and smoke as she cut a path through the Draggard. Dirk followed in her wake, blasting those who got too near with explosive darts. Whill had risen once again, and was cutting through the Draggard in a rage. His eyes glowed bright white to match the elven blade.

“
Whill!” Dirk yelled over the tumult. If he was heard, he did not know, for Whill surged forward and slammed into Eadon.

*

Their energy shields sparked and hissed against one another as Whill slammed into Eadon and drove him back through the air to collide with the sheer wall of Felspire. They crashed through the wall and into a dark chamber and across, blasting through the back wall five hundred yards away. Eadon laughed all the while. Abruptly, Eadon stopped in his flight and hit Whill with a spell that sent him flying back into the spire. In a blur of shining light, Eadon had unsheathed his blade and was lunging forward. Quickly, Whill brought up Adromida to block, but Eadon hit him with such force that the blade was knocked out of his hands and spun away. Eadon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him high.

“
I will have the power of Adromida! How many of your allies must die before you accept your destiny?”

Whill
mentally called to Adromida and the blade flew to his right hand at once. He punched out with his left with an energy blast, hitting Eadon in the chest, but the spell was absorbed. Eadon laughed and released him. He took three strides and turned back on Whill with a smirk. “You cannot kill me with my own blade, boy.”

Whill
looked to Adromida horrified. Eadon laughed all the more.

“
Your purpose had been fulfilled, Whill of Agora. I have made you a legend among men. I have given you not one, but two kingdoms. And this is how I am repaid!” Eadon screamed, and shot a spell that Whill could only brace for. The blast slammed him through Felspire once more, shattering crystal. He landed and rose to his feet quickly as Eadon stalked him.

The
power coursing through Felspire hummed and crackled. Through the center of the wide shaft, a beam of white energy shot up toward the heavens. Eadon outstretched his hand and pulled Whill through the air to land at the center of Felspire. Whill looked to Adromida and the power of the ley lines coursing through the spire. A glance at Eadon showed him the dark elf’s sudden fear, and Whill plunged Adromida into the power beam.

*

              Raene charged her way through the Draggard crowd, ducking low and running around and between their scaled legs. Finally, she came to Dirk and Krentz who were fending off the Draggard. Raene saw who they were defending and stopped dead in her tracks. Floating above glowing gems in chains of light, was an elf maiden and Raene’s cousin, King Roakore. The dwarf had whiplashes all about his naked body. He had only a loincloth for clothes, and blood poured from many wounds. Still, he fought his bondage, screaming obscenities at the nearby Draggard.

At
her back a Draggard lunged, and she whirled around and brought her shield up blocking a spear. She shattered her attacker’s knee with her spiked mace, and turned to run to her kin.

              Roakore wondered if he were dreaming. Possibly he had been drugged by the dark elves. He saw the scoundrel Dirk Blackthorn coming toward him with some sort of ghost elf, and, there, running after them with shield and mace, was a dwarf warrior…a female dwarf warrior! Roakore fought his bonds, thinking the assassin was coming to settle their score once and for all. Before Dirk could reach him, Tarren materialized before his eyes.

“
Well, I be the son o’ stone! He’s alive!”

The
Watcher raised a hand, and the spell that bound Avriel and Roakore winked out and they fell to the hard earth. Roakore immediately barreled toward Dirk. The assassin leapt over him, and he and his ghost elf charged on toward Felspire.

“
Come back, ye coward!” Roakore yelled after him.

“
Roakore! You be all right?” the dwarf woman grabbed his shoulder. He looked at her closer.

“
Raene? Ky’Ell’s little one?”

“
Bah!” she spat. “I be lookin’ little to you?”

“
What you doing here?” he asked, eyeing her armor and mace.

“
Savin’ your bloody arse, it seems,” she laughed.

The
Watcher came to them, holding Avriel’s hand as Draggard and dwargon alike pounded on the energy shield he had created.

“
Who be the little kid?” Raene asked.

“
He be an old elf,” said Roakore, to her puzzlement.

“
Princess Avriel has not only forgotten who Whill is, but also all knowledge of Orna Catorna. It is not safe for her here,” said the Watcher.

Roakore
looked to her, and in her eyes he saw none of the elf’s ferocity; instead he saw confusion, and fear. Behind them, Felspire rumbled, and the ground quaked beneath it. The power coursing through the spire surged, and large chunks of crystal began to fall upon the gathered armies.

“
You will want to be far from here shortly, come with me,” the Watcher told them.

“
My place be next to Whill, he be needin me now more than ever!” said Roakore, turning to look where Whill had blasted Eadon through the crystal.

“
You can offer no help now, good dwarf,” said the Watcher, looking to the south. Roakore followed his eyes and saw Zorriaz, the white dragon Avriel had once been, and upon her back rode King Zerafin.

The
ground shook once more, and larger chunks of Felspire began to rain down upon the battlefield. Spells streaked through the air from all directions still, and explosions flashed everywhere. The sun had been blotted out by the thick fog of smoke that hung over them, and blackened snow and ash fell slowly to the ground.

Roakore
gave a growl of frustration as Zerafin landed, and Avriel and the Watcher climbed on. The Watcher’s energy shield melded with Zerafin’s, and Tarren’s eyes waited patiently for Roakore.

Raene
looked from Zorriaz, to the spire, and back to Roakore. “What’s it gonna be, cuz?”

“If you do not come with us, you will both die,” said the Watcher. “You can offer Whill no help now.”

Roakore reluctantly turned from Felspire. For once, he thought about his people over his sense of glory.

“Bah, come on,” he said to Raene.

They mounted Zorriaz and flew away from the crumbling monolith.

*

              Dirk summoned Chief on the run as he and Krentz went through the hole Whill had made. He spotted Whill and Eadon at the center of the hollow spire. Whill’s blade was thrust into the energy beam coursing from the earth. His eyes glowed with the flowing power, and Eadon backed away.

Dirk
sprinted as fast as his enchanted boots would carry him and rushed to Whill’s side. Krentz reached Whill first, but was blasted by Eadon. She was thrown back twenty feet with crackling, writhing green lightning surrounding her. Dirk yelled to Whill, who seemed to be draining power from Felspire.

“
Eadon wishes to possess y−” Eadon hit Dirk with a bolt of power that lifted him from his feet and sent him crashing to the smooth crystal floor, far away. A hole had been blasted through his side, nearly tearing him in half.

He
lay on his back, fighting for breath, with half of his torso missing. He could not move his legs, and when he tried to feel his wound with his right hand, he found that his arm was missing. Dying, his head lolled to the side, and he beheld his beautiful Krentz. She was reaching for him as she flickered in and out of solid form, crawling across the crystal floor. The writhing green tendrils crackled around her, but she inched her way across the floor to him.

“
Dirk!” she struggled to say. “Keep your eyes open, baby. Dirk!”

He
was tired, and he wanted only sleep. He knew he was dying, but there was nothing to be done. His eyes would not stay open, they were so heavy, so heavy…