The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) (23 page)

Behind them Ned stood atop his defense wall and laughed. "That a boy, Fred! Show that rock you're made of stronger stuff!"

A shadow passed over the ground and Ruth flew in close to the stone. Fred felt the energy build up before he saw it, and he pointed his staff at his gliding friend. A barrier spell shot from his staff and it raced a focused blast of energy from the stone. His barrier was merely a single wall, but it was heavier built than the typical barrier and managed to rebuff part of the power of the blast. Even with his efforts Ruth still tumbled backwards. Sins raced over the top of the debris and sprang into the air. He caught her before she felt onto the sharp, broken walls below and he hid them both behind a ruined wall.

Seeing they were both safe, Fred turned his angry eyes on the homicidal stone. Fluffy sensed his master's ire, and himself snorted and pawed at the ground. The stone lit up for another blast, but Fred wasn't going to wait for it. He leaned down and Fluffy felt the order to charge. He howled and leapt forward. A wall of energy burst out at them, but the stone miscalculated the height of its attack. Fluffy jumped onto debris that stuck high into the air and leapt over the top of the light wall.

They landed on the other side and Fluffy charged. Fred kept half of his thoughts focused on the barrier and the other half on fireballs. Bright colors of red and white swirled around his staff like electrical charges as the white barrier magic mixed with the red flames of the fireballs. He swung his staff ahead of him and shot out a half dozen of the flaming balls. They crashed into the stone and sent sparks shooting over the ground and into the air. When the sparks cleared the stone still stood, but its surface was now scorched. He'd done what no hammer nor chisel could do; harmed the surface of the stone.

The color of the stone darkened to nearly black, and the earth shook. Fluffy yipped when pointed rocks burst from the ground beneath them. He dodged them and zig-zagged around the barren area with the rocks crashing beneath and around them. Fred held on and looked to the stone in time to see a small, focused beam of light shoot from the stone directly at him. It struck him in the forehead, and he fell from the saddle and crashed to the ground. Fluffy turned his head and ran into a stone, rendering him unconscious.

From the safety of his wall Ned watched carefully as the battle raged between the boy, the beast, and the glowing boulder. When Fred was hit, Ned rose up and scurried over the rocks to the young man. The light from the stone slipped out like a winding mist and reached for Fred's prone body. Ned raised his staff, and Fred's body and stick were transported from the barren ground to a few feet in front of him. The old man knelt beside the young one and touched his chest. Ned breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a heartbeat. Fred's eyes fluttered open and he winced when he tried to sit up.

Ned put his hand on Fred's shoulder and pushed him down. "Keep down," Ned ordered him.

"What happened? Where's Fluffy?" Fred asked him.

While they spoke the cloud tendril slithered through the air toward them. "Ned!" Ruth yelled.

Sins leapt from their hiding spot into the desolate area and hit the ground running. He pulled out his dagger and sliced through the tendril. The cloud broke apart only to reassemble itself a few moments later. A beam of light flew from the stone and Sins swung his left side behind him The beam sliced through his retreating left shoulder sleeve and blood splattered to the ground. Ruth dove from their wall and glided over to him. He stretched out his hand and she grabbed it and pulled him into the debris on the opposite side of the stone.

"Ned!" a small voice cried out. Ned turned to see Hywel and the hundreds of Stars coming toward him. In the center of their glowing flock was the treasure. The stone also noticed the item, and recognized it for the danger it held against it. The rock shot out thin strips of light that scattered the Stars and forced them to drop their load. Ned held up his hand, and the instrument arched over the ground and flew into his hand.

"Don't move," Ned ordered Fred. Fred wanted to argue, but the fiery look in the old man's eyes cowed him.

Ned stood, tightly grasped the instrument in his hand, and nimbly sped across the piles until his feet hit the bare ground around the stone. He raised the instrument at the same time a distant din caught his attention. It sounded like a horn. The stone took advantage of his distraction to shoot a wall of light at him. He pulled up a thick barrier, but the light crashed through it and threw him to the ground. His hand hit the dirt, and the instrument broke free and bounced away.

Fred saw the attack. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his teeth. He snatched his stick and willed himself to stand. The stone reached out for the instrument, but he raised his hand and opened his palm. The instrument transported from the ground into his hand. The glowing rock shook the earth and it cut off the column of light from its top. The energy within the stone increased tenfold as it charged itself for a powerful shot. Fred wouldn't be able to block this blow with a barrier.

Fred held up the instrument at the same time the stone shot out a wall of light at him. He stood in the face of the oncoming brilliance and clanged his staff against the inner ring of the square. The sound echoed through the decimated city blocks and vibrated off the debris. The noise created its own earthquake and a hole opened beneath the stone, tipping the rock and its beam of light. The brilliance missed Fred by a few feet and shot harmlessly into the air above the high walls of the city.

The instrument in Fred's hand shattered, and he looked to the rock. The stone shook as cracks spread from its base to the very top. Light seeped from the cracks and in one explosive second the whole mass burst apart. The light vanished and plunged the area into shadow, but Fred was comforted by the darkness. The stone was defeated and they were safe.

CHAPTER 26

Safe, that is, until rocks and pebbles rained down from the sky and pelted Fred with their pointiness. He winced and set a barrier over himself to deflect the stones. The staff also lit up the dark area, and he saw Sins and Ruth hurry over to Ned. Hywel, too, floated down from the air along with his people. They illuminated the ground around the group, and Fred was relieved to see Ned stand and dust himself off while the others crowded around him. "Are you hurt badly?" Ruth asked him.

"I'm fine except for my foolish pride. It needed a few notches down, anyway," Ned consoled her. He glanced over the pair to see Fred hurrying toward the group, and a smile lit Ned's face. "A fine display of focus and skill, Fred," he complimented the young man.

Fred dropped to the barren area and sheepishly shrugged. "I guess I had a good teacher," he replied. Fred heard a whimper and noticed Fluffy still on the ground. His eyes widened and he rushed over to his beast-pet. The cantankus had a good knock on the head and cuts from the sharp light beams of the destroyed stone.

Ned came up beside him and chuckled at the boy and his steed. "He's hungry. A good meal will fix him up." At the mention of food Fluffy stopped his whining and perked up his head and ears.

Fred rolled his eyes and received a good, long lick from his pet. He laughed and pushed Fluffy's head away. "Fine, I'll feed you."

"And yourself," Ned added. "With as much magic as you used I'm surprised you haven't-" Fred's eyes slipped into the back of his head and he collapsed onto his pet. Fluffy yipped and frantically nuzzled his nose into the unconscious boy's face.

"Fred!" Ruth yelled. She rushed over to them, but Ned held out his hand to stop her. He knelt down beside Fred and gently pushed away Fluffy's face.

"An apprentice often overexerts himself when using multiple skills. He'll be fine after a night's rest," Ned assured her. He brushed away a wild lock of Fred's hair and smiled down at the young man's serene face. "You did very well, Fred. Very well."

Outside the city the defenders were in for a pleasant surprise. The moment the stone blew into pieces the undead army dropped to the ground in piles of rotting clothes and flesh. Canto swung at his opponent and his blade met only air when the thing collapsed to the earth. He looked around and saw that the entire army had likewise fallen, leaving the living dwarf army confused. He steadied his face, adjusted his crown and climbed atop an overturned cart. He held his ax above his head and looked out over the decimated field. "Victory!" he cried out.

"Victory!" Shilo and Thino joined in.

"Victory!" Kilo yelled.

"Victory!" Pat and Percy returned.

The word rang through the army and there was much clanging of axes against axes and shields. A perceptive dwarf noticed the crown atop Canto's head and narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second. Who the hell are ya?" the dwarf spoke up.

Shilo climbed beside his head and scowled at the doubter. "He's Canto, our new king," she announced to them.

"Where's Piako?" another asked.

"Where's Danto?" came another voice.

"Fled from the battle," Canto told them.

"Ah have not!" a voice shouted. Danto pushed his way through the crowds and stood before Canto. "And Ah charge ya with treason for disobeying yer king's order!"

Canto scoffed. "Ah got it by right of forfeit, and Ah won't take any arguing about it," he replied.

Danto patted his ax in his hand. "If that's how ya want it then fight for it. We'll show everybody who's the best king."

Canto dropped from the pile and stood before Danto with his ax at the ready. The dwarven onlookers closed in and chose sides while around them still lay their grisly, defeated foes. Pat stepped forward, but Percy grabbed her arm. She whirled around and glared at him. "We have to stop this madness!" she argued.

Percy shook his head. "This is their custom, and Canto would appreciate it if we didn't interfere," he replied.

"But we didn't just defeat the undead dwarves so these idiots could fight!" Pat persisted.

"The battle is over, and now they fight for the future of their people," Percy pointed out. "Let's let them do this." Pat bit her lip and whipped her eyes to the duel.

Canto and Danto circled one another with their axes at their sides. Neither had a shield, and both were covered in blood and wounds. "So ya didn't cower with yer king?" Canto asked his opponent.

Danto scowled. "Ah go where Ah'm needed. That's my job as the captain of the king's guards."

Canto smirked. "Then as yer king Ah'm about to make ya unemployed."

Danto ground his teeth together and jumped at his opponent with his ax pointed down to slice into Canto's skull. Canto easily stepped to the side and blocked a wild swing as Danto turned to face him. They pushed apart and Danto charged Canto. The two blocked and swung their axes, Danto always aiming for the head and Canto aiming to throw off his swing. Canto caught his opponent off guard when he stepped back when the other swung forward. Danto stumbled forward and Canto deftly grabbed his ax. Rather than ripping it from Danto's hands, Canto thrust the butt of the ax handle into Danto's gut. Danto's eyes bulged out of his head and he tumbled to his knees clutching at his stomach. He made terrible wheezing noises and the onlookers cringed and rubbed their stomachs.

Canto then grabbed Danto's weapon and flung it away from him. He sneered down at his opponent. "Ah owed ya for those two hits." The victorious dwarf set his ax over his shoulder and glanced out over the spectators. "Anyone else want to challenge me?" Canto dared them.

There was a lot of mumbling and shuffling, and a small, lone voice spoke up. "Ya've got a lot of strength, but so did Piako and he was an ass," one of the others pointed out. "So why should we follow you?"

Canto chuckled. "Because yer all invited to the castle for a feast. My treat," he told them.

There was silence through the whole field. Then one of the doubters turned to the army and pumped his ax into the air. "Long live the king!" he shouted.

"Long live the king!" came the reply from the army.

Pat rolled her eyes. "Dwarves," she grumbled.

Percy stood beside her and chuckled. "Simple pleasures for a simple folk," he pointed out. Pat didn't reply, but instead turned and wearily stumbled toward the city. "Where are you going?" Percy asked her.

Pat paused and looked over her shoulder. "To a simple boy to see if he made it out of this complicated mess," she replied.

"Then let's go together. I'm curious to know how if their troubles were as much fun as ours," Percy commented.

The pair wound their way through the dead bodies, through the gate of the city, and up the destroyed street to the remains of the stone. They found their friends beside the rock with Fred slumped over Sins' shoulder. Pat's eyes widened and she hurried forward. She touched Fred's back and was relieved when she felt warmth in his body. "Is he all right?" she asked them.

"He'll be fine. He's merely sleeping," Ned assured her.

"And the rest of you? No major damage?" Percy wondered.

"A few close calls, but nothing serious," Ned replied. Hywel swooped down from the air and landed on Ned's shoulder.

"All clear of dark magic," Hywel announced. "My people are setting the trapped Stars free and we'll be back in the swamps before the dwarves know we're gone."