The Exodus Sagas: Book IV - Of Moons and Myth (62 page)

“
Whoa, what in the name of…what is that
!
?”
James drew his gri
ffon hilted blade and backed up as the light cancelled the unnatural shadow that had hidden a giant
serpentine
statue.

Crash, crash, c-crash!

The light
s grew larger, the
red eyes that
flashed open, two snake like
eyes from each of the four
smooth
reptilian heads.
Then, the necks moved, very unlike the stone they appeared to be made from.
The stone trembled, rocks and
stalacmites fell, and from the ver
y wall it seemed built into,
a hydra of sandstone coloring
stepped forth on six legs with its
thrashing tail behind it. The color changed from yellow stone to dark green scales, the eyes went from red to a wicked purple, and
black slivers of irises slowly centered
as the creature awoke. Each step shook the earth, its fifty foot necks curled and slithered the air, and four heads came to life with the draconic body of the titanic being. As its fanged jaws opened, and it looked for who dared awaken it, flames began to swirl from its nostrils and liquid fire dripped from its chins.

“
She got six legs?!”
Zen yelled over the stomping thunderous steps of the beast that was just a statue
moments earlier
.

“
She does!”
Saberrak lowered his horns and roared loud.
The creature roared in return, and deafened out any other noise.

“
Rooooaaarrrgghhhaaeeeessshhh!
” The four heads roared and ear piercing screech of hatred and fire into the cavernous air.

“
By Vundren and all me dead kin, demon o’ ruin, ye’ will answer to the last Thalanaxe! It be time for justice!”
Zen charged in straight ahead, warhammer in hand, shield high.

He saw Saberrak beside him on a low horned charge, James flanking to the left, Shinayne sneaking to the right, and something crackling from Gwenneth’s hand
behind
. He roared a fearless challenge to match that of the monstrous hydra that defiled his mines
before the
very
door to
Vundren’s
sacred f
orge
.

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Her eyes fluttered open, just a bit, enough to see it was night outside and there were candles lit in the room. The bed was comfortable, she felt drunk, yet Queen Katrina of Willborne was alive.

“Hello?” She said to the darkness.

“Your majesty, yes, I am here. You are awake, that is good. Here.” The woman gave her more of the wine that Lord Waylen had instructed would ease her pain.

Katrina drank, the wine was good, refreshing in fact. Her eyes adjusted to the night, she was in a lavish room, the drapes were open. Lilac and lavender were both outside and in the castle, a castle she knew well.

“I am in Willborne Keep, how long?” Katrina sat up. She looked at her arms, then her legs, the injuries were gone and she felt no pain.

“Careful my queen, mind your balance, you have been sleeping many days and nights now. They found you south of C
lawmoore, three days past now
.” The old woman nodded to the guards that peeked in the doors, letting them know all was well.

“And the dragon? Did they find Rynnth?” She stood, nearly fell over, but caught herself on the bed and held still a moment. She was indeed a bit drunk.

“Not sure, I know nothing of dragons, your majesty. Save old stories and such. I heard one awakened, but they say it is but a rumor.”

“No rumor, maid, I hunted it from the western Misathi to our borders. It should be dead, I need to know.”

“But, your majesty, they say
you
are the dragon of Willborne. You are a bit into the wine, for the pain, lay back down now.”

The door creaked open, letting a harvest breeze flourish for a moment as the drapes and Katrina’s nightgown fluttered. Katrina tried to listen, as a noble dressed man entered and whispered to the nursemaid. She could hear nothing, her eyes were heavy, and all her energy was on her balance .

“Your majesty, may we talk?” The man spoke soft, warm, and had a scroll in his hand.

“Is that the order for my execution?” She asked him, his figure was shadowy, she was seeing double.

“No, my queen. That was destroyed two days ago, durin
g the revolt. Many have died since
you arrived here, as many wished you dead.”

“A revolt? Who would dare
wish to see me live for what I have done, especially here in the capital?” Katrina swooned, the maid helped her remain upright.

“The nobles fought, a bloody battle here indeed, all over you. But, Lord Valistor Waylen and the nobles
that
allied to him, prevailed. This letter, is an offer of marriage, from Lord Waylen.”

“Ha! So he can be king? I have nothing to offer, besides a crown and the loyalty of my armies.” Katrina laughed.

“Lord Valistor has your armies, your majesty. They have sworn to him. He has saved your life, he wishes a new Willborne, with you and he on the thrones. Please, think of all you have fought for, all these years, has it not been for this?”

“He is handsome, my queen. Rich to boot, and the people suffer without a king and queen to see our kingdom to prosperity once more.” The maid
’
s words were soothing, almost like a song accompanied them, yet there was none.

Katrina smiled, she felt something, her mind was a pool of wine with visions of Valistor and the banners of Willborne. Things faded, she was sitting now, time had passed. She opened her eyes, and there was another glass of wine, in a different room. She was dressed in a gown now, still numb and drunk, yet sh did not recall drinking anything.

“Where is the maid?”

“Nareene? She had to leave she said, not to worry, you are in my care.” Another young man, noble attire, sigils of house Waylen across his shoulders and chest. She saw the
golden
dragon
chevron with the crossed blades th
r
ough it, he was of house Waylen.

“What is this dress for, am I attending something formal so late in the night?” Katrina drank some of the wine, her head was beginning to throb a bit.

“Not tonight, tomorrow my queen.” The handsome young man, brought another candle over to the vanity. His blonde hair was curled and streaked with long strawberry accents that nearly caught fire.

She smiled up to him, then looked to the mirror. “How dreadful, look at my hair!” She saw that patches were missing, she remembered the fire from the dragon, her eyebrows had but blonde stubble to match. She started to remember, and took more wine.

“We have ladies coming to help you with that, your majesty. It will regrow, do not worry. You will be beautiful for the wedding.”

“Who is getting married, sir?” She smiled at herself in the mirror, her green eyes still sparkled when they would open.

“You, my queen. The people think you a heroine of the kingdom, the dragon of Willborne reborn, they say. You do not remember?”

“Dragons must die, sir. All of them, if there are any left. Who is getting married again?” She reached for a brush, her hand passed through the candle flames. She felt nothing. Again, this time on purpose, she put her hand into the flame. It felt cool, and her mind swam with flashes of Rynnth in the mountains, and her eyes closed.

“You marry Valistor Waylen, my queen. Y
ou signed the offer, half a day past
.
Our people are celebrating, in every city, already.
”

“King Valistor of house Waylen, and Queen Katrina of house Rendell, the king an
e
d queen of Willborne. It sounds nice, but I do not recall him courting me.” She giggled, her han
d still in the fire. Not a mark
as she looked, her flesh was fine in the fire as if it were not there.

“He has been busy, my queen. He has allied with King Johnas Valhera of Chazzrynn, and King Phillip of Harlaheim. Caberra has threatened war
upon us all, they say
."

She looked to the mirror again, nothing surprising her out of her stupor. Her eyes went from green to a glowing red. Katrina of Willborne smiled to herself. “War you say? I specialize in war, sir. Did you know I have been the deadliest mercenary this side of the Garalan River for nearly two decades, since my father was killed?”

“I do, your majesty. And now, you will rule Willborne, with King Valistor at your side. Rest now, tomorrow will be a long day for you.”

“Did you find the dragon, sir. The one I killed, did you find her?” Katrina brushed her hair to no avail, her arms were slow moving and the wine that tasted so refreshing was taking more and more effect. Her eyes closed, everything went dark again,
yet she heard.

“Yes, your majesty, we found a dragon.”

“Good, she rots in hell then.”

“
No, my queen. The dragon we found
…….”

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Their shields were beginning to glow from the fires they blocked, the roaring flames
from two hydra heads forced
Zen and Sir James
back toward the locked doors. Just as they would stop to breath
e
, the other two would unleash more lines of fire from their mouths, keeping the knight and the dwarven priest immobili
zed and blocking massive sprays of flame
.

Saberrak ducked a bolt of lightning as it crackled through the air over his horns. It passed, and burned a scorching black hole into the green scales. He saw the tail come again, and jumped in the air with a quick flex of his muscled legs. The tail swept underneath, tearing rock shards up from the floor, and the gray minotaur landed and turned. He rolled under a biting reptilian head, came up next to the fat scaled body, and chopped both greataxes into its side.

Shinayne, having climbed up the creature’s back, stepped to the left as another head snapped for her. Carice sliced it open from eye to nostril with one slash, then she dove Elicras up under its chin and pulled down its throat. She pulled free and somersaulted across the hydra’s back before the head reared back in pain, pulling her blades low in her tumbling roll. It snapped again, too late for the quick highborne elf, and bit into its own thick scales.
Now on its other side, Shinayne dove her longblade into the other purple gleaming orb with a thrust of steel, and continued her laceration with her shortblade down and across the neck
again
.
Black blood poured like a waterfall as the blinded head thrashed through the air.

“
Jureste hiathuan desei ex moora durax
!”

Gwenneth held the staff of Imoch tight, pointed it with both hands at the hydra, and felt the fourth rune near the top glow ora
nge. She felt the powers of the
draconic words she had learned, the fourth rune of mighty incantation, and suddenly the earth shook f
rom her instead of the beasts’ steps. One, then two, then three massive spikes of stone, sharp as any spear, thirty feet in length, erupted from the floor and pierced through the hydra’s body.
Blood pooled beneath it, the body stuck in place, held by summoned earth and stone as the tip of one nearly pierced Shinayne when it protruded through the back.

“
RRROOOOaaaarrrrchhhheeeiiiisssssssssssss!!!
” The heads, three with eyes and one
now
without, screamed in horrid monstrous anguish. The beast reared up on two of its six legs, twisted its body free from the stone spears, tearing itself wide open. It charged Gwenneth, ignoring anything else.

Saberrak dove out of its path just in time before being trampled. Shinayne leapt off of the back, onto the tail, then off the tail to safe ground behind it. Gwenneth unleashed another blast of lightining from her hand, then another, only angering the bleeding hydra more as it scrambled on six legs toward her, and the edge of the endless dark chasm.

Just as she went to unleash another blast, two heads screamed fire down toward her, another snapped with black fangs
to devour, and the fourth
head swayed in blind confusion. She screamed, covering her face, with nowhere to go as her feet backed up to the edge of the plateau.

Whoosh!

She was gone, right before the flames scorched her spot and the massive teeth ate the charred remains that would have been, something hit her and she fell from the edge into the darkness.

“James
, no!”
Zen looked up from his shield, sweat from blocked hydra fire pouring down his face, and saw his friend dive into Gwenneth and continue off the edge, at the last moment.

“
Gwenneth!
” Shinayne had seen but a blur, a blur of white tabard grab her, then a blur of James and Gwenne falling off the plateau together.