The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (6 page)

Cathy severed her connection to my
magic and I tried to hide my arms as my glowing blue veins slowly
disappeared. This was a standard side effect of joining our magic
together and I didn’t want anyone to see it. It wasn’t something
that would be easy to explain.

The blue disappeared as I felt a
presence approaching me. “I could have fallen to my death,” Ser
Wilson snarled.

“
I saved you,” I
replied, not looking at him.

“
That’s the last time
we trust your magic,” he said, not willing to admit the
obvious.

“
Walk faster next
time,” I said, flashing him a look.

Some of Cathy’s magic must have still
been present in my face because Ser Wilson actually took a step
back and looked shocked. He regained his composure and marched away
towards the guards.

Lady Sandra smiled slightly. “Thanks
for saving him.”

I nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“
How far are we from
the Evenawk capital?” she asked.

“
Shouldn’t be much
farther now,” I answered. “The Evenawk patrol these paths; we will
bump into them shortly.”

“
Good,” she replied,
turning to the group. “Ronnie, how are the tracks?”

“
I’ll check, my
Lady,” Ronnie replied, dashing forward.

Lady Sandra and I rejoined the guards
and Bill nodded his silent thanks. Ronnie returned a few minutes
later from further up the path.

“
The tracks continue
to a clearing and headed northwest from there,” Ronnie said,
rejoining the group.

I asked Lady Sandra for my map and
checked the direction. “He’s heading right to Scert’chak. This will
be easier than I thought.”

“
Don’t doubt him,
he’ll have a trick up his sleeve,” Ser Wilson said.

“
Let’s not waste any
more time,” Lady Sandra said, breaking away from the group. “Move
out.”

I pocketed the map and moved quickly to
join her in the lead as the rest of the group followed behind us.
Lady Sandra had shown her humanity with Ser Wilson in trouble.
There was hope for her to break out of her shell of grief. She
would be responsible for the lands around Davalin while Balendar
repaired itself. A lot rode on her shoulders.

Be careful,
Cathy warned.
You are
starting to slide back into politics again.

I know. I’m trying to stop. It’s
just...Davalin has been good to us.

Which is why we live
far away from it, right?
Cathy asked
sarcastically.

You know what I mean.

Just remember,
Cathy said sternly,
we’re ‘hiding until relationships between citizens and Mages
improve’. Your words, not mine.

Well thanks for reminding me, Mom.

I just...would like
to not see y-...us be hurt,
Cathy said
awkwardly.

That’s a weird sentence.

Oh, shut your face
and pay attention to where you’re going,
Cathy said, the feeling of her retreating to the back of my
mind.

The mountain path opened as we entered
the Ghanlar Plateau. The rich forest was thin near the edge but
quickly grew thicker further west. A single dirt road connected
from our current path and headed northwest in the direction of the
Evenawk capital. I set up my Sentry Stick spell and jogged to catch
up with the group.

I hadn’t made it two
steps into the forest when an ear piercing squawk froze me in
place. It was an Evenawk sound, but unlike anything I had heard
before; eerie, alarming and worst of all, aggressive sounding. Ser
Wilson and the guards immediately drew their weapons and looked to
the sky. Lady Sandra looked at me questioningly and all I could do
was shrug and look to the sky.

More squawking
sounded from deeper in the forest from all sides. I stretched out
with my mind and felt around for the Evenawk minds. I picked up
several minds heading for our position. In their minds, I felt
something I thought I would never feel again. The twisted,
blackened thoughts of Mage brainwashing.

Seems similar to the
brainwashing from before,
Cathy
said.

We have to get to the capital
quickly.

“
Shields up and stay
in the trees where the arrows won’t reach you,” I said to the
group.

“
What’s going on?”
Lady Sandra asked.

“
These Evenawks have
been brainwashed,” I answered. “They are coming to
attack.”

“
How many are there?”
Bill called out, motioning the guards to hide behind the
trees.

I did a quick count of the minds as the
first Evenawk came into view above the tree tops. “15,” I
answered.

“
Good, a challenge,”
Ser Wilson said excited. “Bring them on.”

My magic hadn’t fully
recovered from the bridge and I pulled out my short sword. I had
enough magic to cover my chest and neck in scales, but my arms and
legs would be unprotected. They were areas that could be easily
healed with magic. An arrow to the heart was a little harder to
heal.

The first volley of arrows rained down
on our location. The leaves and branches of the trees stopped some
of the arrows but the sound of the remaining arrows hitting steel
shattered the silence. I had jumped behind a tree as an arrow
plunged into the ground just where I had been standing.

These Evenawks were stronger shots then
the ones from my last trip. After two years of hard battle against
Mages, this group was prepared for a fight.

A second volley rained down on us and
the splinters from the bark shot dangerously close to my head. A
squawk of pain rang out as an Evenawk dropped from the sky and
landed roughly on the road. Behind him a group of Evenawks had
landed on the ground and their wings melted into humanoid arms.

Though the Evenawks were shorter than
Humans and Naos, they were much nastier in battle. Having evolved
directly from birds with the aid of magic, they expanded into war
tribes and it took an alliance of Balendar, Nesqa and the Order of
Magic to prevent them from seizing control of Kalenden.

I didn’t know this
when I had helped free them from Mage control, but after being
oppressed for so long the Evenawks were just looking for their
freedom. If Davenport is using old Tower magic to enslave them for
an army, he would be a very dangerous opponent. Our hope lay in the
combined leadership of Chieftain Harkis and Warlord Narrilok to
stop that from happening.

A third volley of arrows rained down on
us and a second Evenawk fell out of the sky and into the trees
beside the road. The ground troops marched towards us with their
spears at the ready. I looked around to see who was shooting down
the Evenawks and saw Bill trying to protect Ronnie as he readied
his bow.

“
Ground troops are
incoming,” Ser Wilson called out.

The Evenawks had picked up speed and
were closing in quickly. Another Evenawk dropped from the sky and I
quickly scanned looking for the remaining sky archers. I found one
aiming towards Ronnie and summoned some of my remaining strength. I
reached out towards him with my free hand and an Ice Bolt, as sharp
as an arrow, sliced through the air, catching the sky archer by
surprise and dropping him to the ground. The body landed in front
of the marching Evenawks, distracting them and breaking their
formation.

“
NOW!” Ser Wilson
bellowed, jumping out from behind a tree.

The other guards charged out of the
trees towards the Evenawks. The sound of battle filled the area as
I caught sight of a sky archer aiming at me. I dove to my right as
he released his bow and felt a stinging in my left arm as the arrow
grazed me. I cried out in surprise and scrambled behind the tree
before another arrow could be sent my way.

The wound was mild and easy to heal but
burned and throbbed, leaving me feeling weak. A squawk cried out as
Ronnie put his bow behind his back and rushed towards the main
battle. The burning feeling slowly crawled up my arm.

Poison,
Cathy said.
A pretty
strong one too. Better hurry.

I dropped my sword and pressed my four
fingers and thumb around the wound. Pushing power through the
burning arm, the poison was forced through my bloodstream into a
waiting Barrier in my palm. The poison caused the Barrier to
blacken and turn to sludge. I threw it away and it burst on the
ground, making the plants sizzle. I healed the wound and grabbed my
sword to rejoin the battle.

A couple of the
guards lay on the ground with a spear pierced through their bodies
but the Evenawks were suffering the most damage. Having been
trained to fight Mages at a distance, they were no match for a
heavily armoured melee group. Ser Wilson’s hammer smashed through
the armour of an Evenawk sending it flying backwards into a
tree.

An Evenawk had broken away from the
main group to stalk Ser Wilson from behind and I rushed towards
him. Bill also had seen the Evenawk and attacked with a swing of
his sword. The Evenawk parried the sword with his spear. I reached
the fight and swung my sword, only to have it blocked by the spear
as well.

The Evenawk swung his spear back and
forth between the two of us like a club to try and keep us at bay.
I launched a Pulse at his weapon to knock him off guard and as he
stumbled, Bill charged in and plunged his sword in the Evenawk’s
chest.

Ser Wilson finished off the last
Evenawk with a mighty swing and the battle was over. The group
stood panting looking for any sign of more trouble. “Search the
area,” Lady Sandra ordered. “Make sure there aren’t anymore.”

Ronnie and Vincent left in opposite
direction to search the surrounding area and I sheathed my sword.
“Is anyone wounded?” I asked.

Lady Sandra had a
bleeding wound across her left cheek, but shook her head. Ser
Wilson was covered in blood but by the look of it, it wasn’t his
own. The two guards on the ground, Jeff and Trevor, were already
beyond help.

“
These Evenawks were
brainwashed,” I said, checking the bodies. “They shouldn’t have
attacked us.”

“
So it is happening
here,” Ser Wilson said to Lady Sandra.

“
Yes, we are too
late,” she responded sadly.

Chapter
6

“
What are you talking
about?” I asked worried about what she would say next.

“
We saw this at
Thurlborn Peak,” Lady Sandra answered. “He brainwashed the
townspeople. When we marched on the city to take it back, it wasn’t
an army that was waiting for us; it was armed women and
children.”

“
So what happened?” I
asked. The others rejoined and Ser Wilson grew
uncomfortable.

“
Our orders were to
march and reclaim the White Castle,” Lady Sandra said, “regardless
of the cost.”

I shook my head. “The Evenawks went
through the same thing here when we reclaimed the city. Why didn’t
you tell me he did this?”

“
How can you?” Bill
asked.

“
We didn’t trust
you,” Lady Sandra answered.

“
I still don’t,” Ser
Wilson said.

“
So why did you say
yes when I offered to join?” I asked. “Based on what you’ve said,
you should have just attacked me on sight.”

“
I wanted to,” Ser
Wilson said.

“
You don’t recognise
me but I recognise you,” Lady Sandra replied. “When you were at the
White Castle talking to the king about your quest, I heard the
ruckus you created with the plants and checked it out. I saw you
leave with Captain Larson and the White Staff.”

“
I don’t remember
seeing you there,” I replied.

You’ve never been the
observant type to begin with though,
Cathy
pointed out.

“
I stayed in the
back,” she replied. “My...” she took a deep breath. “My father and
I were visiting the castle with all the Lords to work out how to
deal with the kidnapping business. After you left the king declared
the problem solved. Said a Mage would handle it. Naturally everyone
was sceptical but sure enough, reports started flooding in from
Nesqa and Ghanlar. A Mage with your description had saved the
Princess in Nesqa, overthrown the Mages at Ghanlar and, depending
on who you believe, destroyed the Tower. Imagine my shock when that
Mage moves into the Szwen Forest and more reports start coming
in.

“
You had earned the
respect of the king and my father, not an easy task for someone in
your position. Unfortunately that respect resulted in Davenport
being unleashed on the world, but when I found you in that forest,
I knew that we needed a Mage to defeat a Mage.” She shook her head.
“I hate magic more than anything else in the world, but if you are
the Mage I have been hearing about, then we need you to defeat
Davenport.”

The guards and Ser
Wilson looked at me in shock. Lady Sandra was very well informed,
but the men wouldn’t have heard half of those stories nor would
they have believed that the person she was talking about stood in
front of them.

Does this mean you
are going to become egotistical?
Cathy
said.

Not at all.

Why not?
Cathy suggested.
It
would be fun.

“
So you had to take a
chance,” I said. “And here we are, knee deep in brainwashed
Evenawks, hoping to catch him before he brainwashes the entire
Evenawk race and turns them into a slave army.”