The Final Storm

by Wayne Thomas Batson

  In just a few moments Robby had taken out three of the enemy soldiers, but many more were charging up to take their place. There could be no winning this battle behind enemy lines. Robby backed toward the wall of Alleble, and the enemy closed in.

  Then something drew the knights’ attention. They turned from Robby and saw rows and rows of knights turning their heads and looking into the gloom. A huge shadowy shape came forth, and enemy knights were grabbed up and launched violently into the air, cartwheeling into their own forces. In just a few seconds hundreds of knights had been destroyed. The vision! Robby remembered in a rush. It’s happening!

  The knights scattered and tried to get away, but it came upon them with lightning speed. A large serpentine creature with huge slanted yellow eyes rose and began grabbing up Paragor Knights in each of its huge claws. The monster hurled them away and raced toward Robby. Robby backed away in fear, slamming into the wall. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground. The taloned fingers of the beast clenched in. Robby screamed and dropped his broadsword. He expected any second to be cast into the air or smashed into the wall.

  “You are not a Paragor Knight, are you, hmmm?” Robby felt warm breath wash over him. He opened his eyes to a squint and saw nothing but huge yellow eyes and jaws filled with teeth as big as knives. “I sssee that you are not! It is a good thing for you that Falon’s eyes are still keen.”

  Several Paragor archers fired upon Falon from what they thought was a safe distance. Falon didn’t even glance in their direction. She simply slithered the back end of her body around behind them and crushed them in her coils. “Pesky, aren’t they?” she said with a mischievous laugh. “Now then, who are you?”

  “My name is Robby,” he replied. “You aren’t going to eat me . . . are you?”

  “Eat you?” Falon smiled. “Nay, young Robby. I have already had my fill of these black-armored folk. Not terribly tasty . . . no. But, perhaps I will go back for more later.”

  Robby felt a chill run up his back.

  “Wait,” Falon said. “My eyes may not be as good as I claimed. You are not Glimpse-kind! You are from the Mirror Realm, hmmm?”

  “Righ-ight!” Robby nodded. “I’m from Maryland.”

  “The land of Mary?” Falon asked, scratching her chin with one of her talons. “Never heard of that, but I have met others from the Mirror Realm. You do not by any chance know Sir Aidan, do you?”

  “Aidan!” Robby’s eyes lit up. “Yes, he’s my best friend!”

  “Your best friend? Really?” Falon smiled. “Oh, this is getting interesting now, isn’t it, hmmm?”

  “Is he here?”

  Falon nodded. “I left Aidan and Lady Antoinette in a valley behind the enemy’s flank, out of harm’s way . . . for the moment.”

  “But I thought,” Robby stammered, hardly believing his ears. “I mean, Aelic was near death, . . . and that means—”

  Falon looked at Robby strangely. Slowly she lowered Robby to the ground. “Pick up your sword, young Robby,” she said. “Where we are going, I have a feeling you are going to need it.”

  39

  THE FINAL STORM

  UNLEASHED

  K aliam knew that before him stood the Wyrm Lord, changing from a large Glimpse to his true self. Kaliam raised his broadsword and charged. The Wyrm Lord lifted up his claw and backhanded Kaliam off the ramp, sending him crashing into some short trees nearby. Now in his true form, the monstrous dragon with dark scales, a long crested neck, and wings that spread and blotted out all the sky was looking down at Kaliam. The Wyrm Lord reared back and inhaled. A loud horn rang out and the wyrm craned his neck, and in that moment, a black-shafted arrow plunged into the creature’s right eye. He shrieked, grabbed the arrow, and yanked it free. The eye closed and did not open again. Then the Wyrm Lord stirred his great wings and took to the air.

  The next face Kaliam saw was much more pleasant. “Would you like a hand?” asked Nock.

  Kaliam stood and asked, “That was your shot?”

  “I owed him one from the time we met in the forest,” Nock said, pulling Kaliam up to the ramp.

  Kaliam ran to the wheel. “Nock, help me close the gate!”

  Nock ran over to help pull the wheel, but before he arrived Kaliam yelled, “It is no use! The wyrm has fused it with his fire!”

  Then they heard a noise like thunder. “Horses!” Nock yelled. “We are too late! Paragor sends his mounted troops!”

  They ran down the ramp and saw the gate raised high and hundreds of dark horses pouring in. “Quick, to the parapets!” Kaliam shouted. And as they climbed to the gatehouse wall, the wind began to howl. Lightning crackled and struck a nearby tower. They looked from the parapets out over the plains of Alleble; the clouds billowed and churned like the contents of a cauldron.

  “The storm is breaking upon us!” cried Nock.

  Kaliam and Nock stared into the storm and saw shapes materializing out of the clouds . . . winged shapes.

  “Paragor releases his dragons at last!” Kaliam exclaimed.

  And the sky became filled with shapes of dragons. Upon each dragon rode a warrior whose helmet was in the shape of a skull. Each wielded a long staff with a sickle-shaped blade at the end.

  Kaliam heard Sir Warriant yell from the walls, “The Deathreapers have come! The Deathreapers!”

  Kaliam and Nock sprinted along the parapets as the Deathreapers descended. The Deathreapers swooped down and slashed with their scythes, hewing anyone within their reach.

  “Nock, where are our own dragons?” Kaliam asked.

  “I do not know,” he replied. “But I will go and find out. Never alone!”

  “Never alone!” Kaliam repeated. He looked back at the enemy pouring into the gate. He saw the lightning split the sky, and the Deathreapers swarming in overhead. Alleble’s defenses were crumbling. He drew in a deep breath, hefted his broadsword, and ran across the walls. Where is Lady Merewen?

  Falon came to a stop just beyond the southern flank of the enemy. Robby clambered down off of Falon’s foreleg to see two knights: a soldier in the dark livery of Paragory and a warrior of Alleble, standing side by side. “Aidan?”

  “Robby!” Aidan yelled, and he ran to his friend.

  “Aidan, did you join Paragor?”

  “What?” Aidan asked, dumbfounded. And then he looked down. “Oh, the armor! Uh, that’s a long story! But I’m with Alleble. Robby, this is Antoinette Reed.”

  “So we meet—,” Robby said.

  “I hate to break up thisss reunion,” Falon said, “but we have something important to do.” Falon held out her foreleg and Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby climbed up.

  “Yes!” Aidan exclaimed. “Take us to the gates!”

  “Nay, Sir Aidan,” Falon replied, shaking her massive head.

  “But, Falon, you said—”

  “I changed my mind,” Falon replied curtly. “The enemy at the gates of Alleble does only the bidding of its master. I intend for us to go after Paragor himself.”

  The lookout on the balcony above Guard’s Keep loosed a trumpet blast, and the combined dragon forces of Alleble and its allies soared up from behind the castle. They had been waiting for the signal, waiting for Paragor to send his dragons into the skies.

  Trenna’s stomach did a flip as her white steed streaked straight up to get over the castle and then swooped down into formation. Queen Illaria led the team, most of whom flew with her in the Battle of the Blue Mountains. In seconds, they saw the enemy circling above the thoroughfare of Alleble like vultures.

  When the Paragor dragons saw the force of Alleble approach, they wheeled about to face them. Trenna fitted a black shaft to the bowstring and took aim. The first enemy rider came into view, but just for a brief moment. The sight of the rider’s skull helmet threw off her aim. He dove quickly and Trenna’s shot went wide.

  Just then, another enemy rider flew in from the side. He brought his scythe down hard, but Trenna drove her steed out of the way.
There were more of them than she thought. Every time she attempted to turn and shoot, several enemy riders attacked and forced her to evade. But Trenna was not to be outdone. She urged her dragon to fly right into the path of several enemies and then turned to run.

  “Come on!” she cried, looking over her shoulder. When they followed, she smiled. Trenna’s dragon was far swifter than those of her enemy, but she let them close the gap. “You think you are going to get me!” she said, and then she turned her dragon and led them right past the southwest wall.

  Nock heard the trumpet blast and saw the dragons come swooping down from over the castle. “There they are at last!” he yelled. “Archers, spearmen! Our dragons have joined the fray!”

  Nock ran to the nearest tower and ran inside. He went to a huge cabinet and replenished his supply of Blackwood Arrows. On the way out, he saw that a siege tower had lowered its drawbridge. A huge warrior was coming across it. Nock fitted a shaft to the string and was about to fire when he realized it was Mallik and not an enemy. Nock ran over and greeted Mallik just as he stepped back onto the walls.

  “Oh, hello, my archer friend!” Mallik said. “What brings you to my side of the party?”

  “I almost put an arrow in your hide!” Nock answered. “What were you doing in that siege tower?”

  “Oh, just fixing a few things,” Mallik said, a mischievous smile curling beneath his coppery mustache. “Watch!”

  Mallik turned and took a mighty swing with his hammer, bringing it down on the edge of the drawbridge. The whole siege tower began to shake, and then it collapsed upon itself in a great cloud of debris.

  “How did you do that?” Nock asked.

  “Remember,” Mallik said, “we Blue Mountain folk are good at building things, but in the process, we learn how to knock them down!”

  They laughed, but then Mallik turned and pointed. “A white dragon is coming this way. Is that not one of your kin?”

  Nock looked, saw the chase, and called over two more archers. Trenna brought her steed down right in front of the archers with the enemy directly behind her. They let Trenna pass, but not the Deathreapers. The archers timed their shots perfectly and loosed their shafts.

  When Trenna looked back, there were three riderless dragons following her. The technique worked so well, Trenna tried it again. The archers upon the walls picked off five more enemy riders. But eventually the Deathreapers grew wise. They had watched Trenna and knew what she would do.

  Two waited in ambush high above the parapets for Trenna to soar in front of the walls. She did so exactly as before. And just as before, she looked over her shoulder to see if her pursuit had been eliminated, and then she started to wheel about. The two Deathreapers who had been lying in wait streaked down toward Trenna. She didn’t see them until it was too late. The enemy riders kept Trenna between them and swept down their scythes for the kill. In a split second when she recognized the threat, she tried to pull away. The blades missed Trenna but clipped both of her dragon’s wings. The loyal white steed tried valiantly to maintain control, but it could not generate the lift it needed. Trenna’s steed fell awkwardly about a hundred feet and slammed into the roof of a cottage.

  “No, Trenna!” Nock had watched from the walls. “Come, Mallik!”

  “Do you think there is a chance?” he asked.

  “I do not know,” Nock answered grimly. “But we must try.”

  40

  THE THREE WITNESSES

  Falon carved a bloody streak through Paragor’s forces. Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby, shielded by Falon’s enormous bat-wing ears, held on for dear life. Archers opened fire on her, and a strange horn rang out, but there was no slowing the mortiwraith’s charge.

  At last, she came to the foot of the hill and began to climb. “Ready your weapons, young ones!” she called back to them. Huge guards were at the fence where the torches stood. They rushed down the hill swinging battleaxes and massive spiked clubs. Falon brushed them aside, incurring dozens of deep wounds, but still she climbed. She drove over the ring of torches and then slowed to a crawl. She held out her foreleg to let her riders down.

  “It is best that you stand on your own two feet from here,” she said. “Stay close behind me, hmmm? I will shield you as much as I can, but be wary.” Falon clambered up the incline. Careful to avoid her giant footfalls, Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby followed right behind.

  The top of the hill was a huge expanse, but in the exact middle was an enormous carriage drawn by a massive blackhorne. There was a warrior seated upon the front of the carriage. He was clad in shining black armor and wore a red cloak that flapped heavily in the gusting wind. At his side was a long sword, and in his hand was a heavy mace that swung like a pendulum when he stood.

  “Hail, Falon firstborn,” said the warrior. His voice was rich and melodic. “After your efforts on behalf of Mithegard, I have so looked forward to our meeting.” Thunder rumbled and the storm clouds swirled slowly over his head.

  “You have always known where I dwell, Paragor,” Falon replied. “I wonder why you never visited my little labyrinth. We could have had such fun . . . in the dark, hmmm? But it was kind of you to veil the sun and moon so that I could come to you.”

  “And it was kind of you to do so much of my work for me,” Paragor said as he tilted his head to see the approach of Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby. “Very kind . . . you have even brought me back those I did not know I had lost. Antoinette, I take it you grew weary of the confines of your cell?”

  Antoinette’s tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth, and she said nothing.

  “You will not harm these little ones,” Falon said, growling. “Your business is with me tonight.”

  “Save your bluster, mortiwraith!” Paragor said, suddenly commanding. “My business is of my own choosing. If these three are of interest to me later, what is that to you?”

  Aidan’s skin crawled and he stared at Antoinette. Robby looked at them quizzically.

  Falon emitted a low, rumbling growl that shook the hilltop. She bared her fangs and hissed, “Paragor! You have stolen from these three as you have stolen from me—all in the name of a crown you will never wear! You owe us a price in blood, hmmm? And we have come to collect!”

  “Enough of this!” Paragor exclaimed. He whirled his mace above his head, and suddenly it caught fire. The clouds above him swirled faster. A shriek cut through the wind.

  “The Wyrm Lord!” Antoinette cried.

  From the darkest blotch in the clouds a large winged shape flew. He dove right for Falon. She reared up like a cobra waiting to strike. Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby raced out of the way.

  The Wyrm Lord crashed into Falon like a comet and the two rolled backward down the hill. They came apart at the bottom. The Wyrm Lord loosed a stream of fire at Falon, but she coiled away. Then Falon snapped her tail section like a whip, and many of her talons slashed across the Wyrm Lord’s armored chest. The Wyrm Lord shrieked but recovered from the wound faster than Falon expected. The firstborn dragon unleashed a horrible spout of fire. Overcome by the blaze, Falon rolled backward down the hill and lay in a heap.

  “No!” Aidan yelled, and he drew Fury from his sheath and turned to Paragor.

  But Paragor swung his flaming mace faster and faster. The clouds above began to funnel. They swirled down and engulfed the mace and Paragor’s arm. The flames from the mace spiraled up into the clouds. And Paragor began to laugh. “Leave them alive!” he cried. “We have business later!”

  The tornadic clouds surrounded Paragor and lifted him high in the sky. Then the Wyrm Lord swooped down and carried him in the direction of Alleble.

  “Leave them alive?” Aidan thought aloud. “Who is he talking to?”

  Then they heard the steady march of many soldiers. Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby found themselves staring at a surging mass of Paragor Knights, a thousand or maybe a legion strong. The ring of soldiers closed like the tightening of a noose. There was no escape.

  Kaliam quickly found Lady
Merewen. She ran to him. “What news, m’lord?” she asked.

  “The main gate is lost,” Kaliam said. “We have managed to contain Paragor’s horsemen, but they may break through the ranks and win the fountains—especially if the Seven Sleepers are loosed in the city. But no one has seen them since Warriant’s venture into the murk. The battle in the skies is slowly tilting in Paragor’s favor. He has so many riders, and they wield fear along with their blades.”

  “It is time then,” Lady Merewen said, taking his hands into hers.

  “It is time. But, m’lady,” Kaliam objected, “what if I am wrong?

  “It is the King’s will, my husband,” she said. “You will not be wrong.”

  “But without the Scroll of Prophecy? There is so much more—”

  “You have known in your heart without the Scroll! How often have you told me of their visions?”

  “But—”

  “Cast away the doubts!” Lady Merewen implored him. “Did not King Eliam say that one would come who would call them? Kaliam, you are the Herald of the Three Witnesses!”

  Kaliam shook his head to argue, but there came over him then such a tangible sense of peace that all doubts fled. Kaliam nodded, embraced his wife, and departed the barracks. He sprinted through back ways and hidden avenues until he came to the bell tower behind the northern wall. Aside from the ninth level of the Library of Light, the northern tower was the tallest vantage in the city. Kaliam raced up the staircase and found himself in an open-air room with a huge bell and a balcony on both sides.