Lord Of Dragons (Book 2) (31 page)

"You expect me to believe the word of someone like you?" Master Vhelan scoffed and wagged his head in disgust. "Try going back to the part where you order your vile draenyx army to leave Shaar'el and return back through the portal."

"Kill him, Princess Sebine." King Braxion said, and narrowed his eyes in appraisal of the Princess. "If you ever want to win my trust and return home, you will do this thing." When she raised her hands to the old sorcerer, a sly smile formed on the King's face. Sebine knew it likely that Master Vhelan would ward himself, so she cast a quick spell to push him backwards, but with only the smallest power. The spell reflected back onto her and sent her spinning around at the force.

As the sorcerer scowled at her in puzzlement, she cast the stunning spell on him and cast another spell pulling the Mirror of Halien'shur from his hands. She anchored herself against the far wall and cast another spell that rocketed Master Vhelan and his dragon far out into the blackness. She knew he'd survive, it was all part of the plan.

"I've done it!" Sebine shouted, and displayed the two relics and a broad grin to King Braxion.
 

King Braxion frowned at Sebine, and cast a wary eye out into the dark sky where the sorcerer had been shot. "How did you kill him so easily?"

"You saw the remains of your brutalized draenyx warriors. I did that and more. I know Master Vhelan's tricks." Sebine gave the King a devious smile. "He casts a reflective ward on himself, so a light spell will break the ward. Then I cast a killing blow and stole his relic and knocked him out into the desert. Let the dogs eat his shriveled body."
 

Sebine raised her hand and displayed the ring. "I wield the Ring of Galdora, an ancient elven ring of power gifted to me by the elves. This gives me the strength to break through even the most dangerous sorcerer's defenses."

"Prove it," the King said, and pointed at a Hakkadian sorcerer hovering in the air. "Kill him."

Without hesitation, Sebine cast a small push spell and immediately cast a stunning spell. When the stupefied sorcerer fell to the ground, she cast the boiling spell and caused his head to explode in a burst of blood and shattered bone. The other sorcerers moved to fight against her, but King Braxion raised his hand to stop them.

"Very impressive!" He clapped his hands in a show of mock enthusiasm. "Now give me the relics. You've taken one step in proving your loyalty to me. It seems that you've indeed grown in power over your journey and represent a formidable addition to our cause. Prince Xanthes will be most interested in meeting you..."

Sebine strode forward and handed both relics to the King. Now each step she took was critical to their success. As the King shouted and stabbed down and shattered the relics with repeated strikes of his sword, Sebine pulled in all the power she could muster from the Ring of Galdora, and cast a small push spell against the Hakkadians sorcerers. As their protective wards went off, Sebine felt an unexpectedly magnified force that shoved her back to the ground. Disoriented, she forced herself to focus, but it was too late. From the shadows, the wizards of Shaar'el blasted the Hakkadians in an eruption of fire and ice.

Chapter Thirty-Five

MASTER SHALINOR RELEASED a heavy sigh of disbelief, unable to comprehend the depths of his grandson's foolishness. Would the boy ever learn to obey and act as a team? Gods, he was just as stubborn as his mother. The woman was impossible to reason with and needed compelling incentives to get her to cooperate with anything that wasn't her idea. And as he studied the eruption of violence atop the Malathian capitol, the wizard felt as if the devious nature of Gaa'el, the god of the earth, were wreaking havoc here tonight.

The Hakkadian sorcerers allied with Master Vhelan were clearly concerned by what they saw, and seemed to urge their dragons faster to join the battle. As they neared the chaos of elemental magic raging in the air, Master Shalinor spied tens of the draenyx assaulting figures across the courtyard. He commanded his dragon to dive, believing his primary goal was to eliminate the abominations from the field of battle. The magicians of Shaar'el would likely win a contest of magic against the young Hakkadians allied with the King.

One of Master Shalinor's favorite games as a child was knocking aggressive ants from tall, cone-shaped anthills found in the salt flats along the Ferelian Sea. The fat, red insects kept pouring out of the mouth of the anthill to greet the wizard's snapping finger as he flicked them far out into the sand. A wistful smile formed on his face as he pictured the lazy days spent playing on the beach. Weren't the draenyx kind of like those annoying ants that would love to crawl up his legs and bite him all at once?

He looked down at his fingers and chuckled to himself as he instinctively made the same flicking motion and out of the corner of his eye he saw a massive draenyx beast shrieking as it catapulted far out into the desert. It wouldn't be sufficient to just knock them down to terrorize the city's lower levels, they needed to be flicked so far they'd likely break their wings or snap their necks in the process.

A devious thought came to the wizard. Couldn't he just crack their pretty wings and snap them off with the ease of yanking off fly's wings? Those annoying flies that loved to buzz in his ears and eat his food. A fireball perhaps to roast their wings into crisps? He flicked his finger a few more times and added a layer of flame to the spell that caused the creatures to look like balls of fire arcing out into the desert. This was an immensely enjoyable game.

While the Hakkadians loyal to Master Vhelan sped down and launched waves of brutal attacks against the other sorcerers, the wizard hovered in contentment, relishing flicking the nasty looking ants off the anthill. Unfortunately he found himself tiring from the exertion, and as he paused and raised his hands to receive the power from the moon, he spotted hundreds more pouring in through the portal and clambering up the hill to join the battle...

Chapter Thirty-Six

TAEL STALKED TOWARDS King Braxion, hoping to intercept the King before he had a chance of escaping back through the portal. It seemed like their enemies were losing. Every second Tael spotted a draenyx being knocked far off into the darkness by some invisible hand, their bodies igniting into flame as they made their descent. And the young Hakkadians loyal to the King were faring poorly against the elder wizards and witches of Shaar'el. Did they actually have a chance?

A brilliant flash of silver caused Tael to snap his head around. What was that in Sebine's hands? King Braxion's terrified eyes gazed at the Princess. She retrieved a silver dagger from her purse and with one clean strike and a shriek of horror from the King, she used the shimmering blade to stab what looked like an amulet.

The King shielded his eyes from a blast of blinding light erupting from the shattered amulet. As Tael charged in to protect the Princess, the King raised his sword in rage, his rat-like face puffy and red, and eyes bloodshot and furious.

"You traitorous whore," shouted the King, spittle flying from his ugly mouth. "I'll murder you and your mother for that. Is this the thanks I get for providing you with everything you've ever needed?" Sebine shrieked in pain as the King seized her by the hair.
 

Tael leapt forward and brought down Balensaar and parried the King's blade as it was about stab her neck. Braxion whirled around and fixed his full attention on the new threat. Tael kicked the King in the chest and the man released his grip on Sebine and went tumbling backwards.

"The young whelp?" Braxion coughed out a mocking laugh as he came to his feet. "Come to challenge a King?"

I've come to kill a king, Tael thought, and narrowing the gap between them, tried a riposte after parrying a slashing strike. The King shifted aside, his feet deft as dancer's, and Tael recognized the movements as similar to the water dancing style his father had taught him.

"Surprised?" King Braxion gave Tael a cocky grin as he circled around and batted away several testing blows. "Thought only you and your father knew the style? Even a fool can copy another man's secrets."

Tael quick-stepped forward and swatted away the King's blade while spinning back-to-back around the old man. He stabbed down at the back of the King's knee, but a found a fist pummeling him in the face instead. Pain shot across Tael's face as blood erupted from his mouth and shattered nose.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" The King took the chance to scan around and his mouth formed a broad smile as he realized a wave of draenyx warriors now surrounded their group. The young sorcerers had been defeated by the wizards and witches, but from their tired faces Tael could see they had no more power to battle the draenyx army. Already the magicians levitated far in the air above the draenyx.

"So what will it be?" King Braxion leveled his blade at Tael's chest. "Would you have one of those beasts rip out your heart? You must leave the girl for me. Her double betrayal demands death."

Tael answered the question by pivoting and issuing a fake jab at the King's side, then spinning around, he swept the old man's feet out from under him and knocked the King onto his back. With a speedy recovery, the King raised his blade to stop Tael's downward slash and leaned into the block and slammed his pummel into Tael's balls. Pain shot through Tael's groin and stars blossomed in his eyes as he stumbled backwards.

He clenched his teeth and fought against the urge to double over, keeping his blade aimed at the advancing King. This was a battle he couldn't lose, and with Sebine's life at risk, he knew he had no choice but to fight.

"Are you suicidal?" King Braxion sneered at Tael as several draenyx flanked him, sniffing the air as if they were hunting dogs. Their beautiful elven faces held a perplexed expression as if uncertain of how to handle the battle. The King waved them away and the creatures stayed back, crouched and ready to strike. "I don't need these beasts to fight my battles against young whelps like you. I rather enjoyed bloodying your face. Do you fight for your parents or fight for the traitorous little bitch?"

"Neither," Tael said, and spat into the King's face while charging him with the blade. Braxion batted Balensaar aside and lunged at Tael's face again with the pommel. This time Tael caught the trick and ducked down under the King's arm and brought Balensaar thrusting up underneath the King's arm. The sword tip bit and punched through the weak point in his armor, causing the King to gasp in pain and shrink away. Tael pressed his advantage and exploited the King's injured side, releasing a flurry of blows that the King desperately tried to knock away.

But Braxion was weakening, and the draenyx seemed to smell it, and out of concern they pushed forward to aid the King. Tael realized it might be his final chance to slay the King, so he pulled the shadows around his form and caused the King to flail his sword around in wild rage at his opponent's disappearance.
 

"Show yourself! Are you a thief or a warrior?" The King whipped around and winced in pain as he nursed his wound, but his determined face tensed as he tried to spot Tael.

"I am both warrior and thief," Tael said, and brought the blade slashing hard against the King's gorget, and Balensaar didn't disappoint. The blade cut clean through the armor and a spray of blood erupted from the King's shoulder. Tael screamed and swore at himself for missing the neck, and a surge of horror pulsed through him as the draenyx went to intercept the staggering King.

"You little bastard..." The King slapped at his wound and his armor made a clacking sound as he stumbled backwards and fell into the arms of a draenyx warrior. When Tael shot forward to delivery a killing blow, instead of fighting him, the draenyx lifted the King and dragged him backwards, flapping its wings and taking flight. The beast made a shrill, shrieking sound that caused the other draenyx to lift into the air and follow the first creature's retreat, until the whole group scampered over the edge.

Tael chased after the fleeing group, furious at himself for not striking true, but hoped the blood loss would be enough to kill King Braxion. He spied the draenyx carrying the King dive into the portal and disappear inside. The other draenyx didn't hesitate and poured back through the portal, and the confused Vizathian Knights followed after them.