As he fumed about how much longer the journey would take due to the unforeseen circumstance, a new idea formed. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but it would definitely speed things up if it did. Commanding Morgana to a full stop, the Black Knight paced the deck.
The Executioner’s Rage pulled up alongside the futuristic vessel and the crew pulled the oars inside. The captain stroked his scruffy beard, curious as to why the other boat floated beside his like a dead fish. Had the strange ship encountered a malfunction that left it stranded? Pushing his men aside, he approached the rail and hailed the Black Knight, who immediately appeared and began issuing instructions to the captain.
Complying with the new orders, he paced the deck of the Executioner’s Rage, and commanded specific sailors to extend their oars. He knew the Black Knight was not patient, but he did the best he could and hoped it would be enough to keep him from the demon’s wrath. After a half an hour of delicate maneuvering, the galley was in place. Before he could signal Morgana that his vessel was positioned as ordered, the Black Knight suddenly appeared on the deck of the Executioner’s Rage, batting the captain aside like he was no more significant than an annoying fly. Since the boarding plank had not been extended, the captain scratched his head in confusion, wondering how the demon had gotten from one ship to the other.
The Black Knight moved with eerie speed, stopping in front of his cowering subordinate, Verin. “I want you to command this machine,” he began, pointing toward one of the giant, troll-like sentinels, “to stretch itself between the vessels. Once it firmly has both ships in its grasp, come aboard Morgana and notify me.”
“As you wish, Master,” Verin replied, trying his best to keep fear from creeping into his tone. When the Black Knight returned to his vessel, the formless demon let out a slow breath. Ignoring the icy glare of the skeletal captain, Verin communicated his orders to one of the enormous machines. After a short series of clicks and beeps, it slowly lumbered to the front of the Executioner’s Rage and leaned forward over the gap between the ships, latching its metallic fingers on to Morgana’s hull. Once that was accomplished, it hooked its giant feet through the foremost rails of the galley. Emitting a flurry of mechanical noises, it let Verin know it was in position. Quickly, the formless demon drifted aboard his master’s craft and apprised the Black Knight that his order had been carried out.
Saliva dripping from his elongated teeth, he grinned. The burning embers of his eyes flickered momentarily, as if flames were about to shoot from the darkened sockets beneath his tattered black hood, then the Black Knight turned toward the controls. He pushed a button to set Morgana back in motion, the prior route map popping up on the display monitor. A countdown timer began ticking toward their arrival in the southern lands, which according to Morgana would take just over two hours.
The Black Knight stalked to the rear of his ship to inspect the mechanical giant, hoping his improvised tow-bar would hold up under the stress of dragging the wooden galley. When he saw that his idea was working, he hissed a sigh of relief. So far, so good. If the seas remain calm, there shouldn’t be any more problems. His face twisted with demonic glee as he returned to the front cabin.
Chapter 20
A familiar sensation tickled her brain, a faint recollection of something from the not so distant past. Turning her golden eyes away from the young dragon sleeping on the beach, Skarr lifted her head and studied the sky. If she had been ten feet closer to the softly lapping waves rolling onto the sand, she might have caught a glimpse of sunlight reflecting off the metallic creature above. She hadn’t seen it, though, so the alarm bells in her head remained silent. A hot gust of wind blew across the shoreline as she sighed, washing over Sygax like a warm blanket. The youngster cracked open one eye for a moment, then drifted back to sleep. Once he’d seen the motherly figure of the ancient female dragon watching over him, he was comfortable enough to get some much needed rest. He had done his best to not show weakness, or the fact that the journey to the southern lands had almost been too long for his wings to bear, and all he could do was hope the others would not want to take to the air again anytime soon. If they did, he would have to come clean about how much the flight had taken out of him.
Sitting beneath a small cluster of palm trees, Edward noticed the skyward glance of the ancient dragon. He almost followed the angle of her gaze, but knew the foliage overhead would prevent him from seeing anything. Still, for a few seconds he thought he’d heard something, but dismissed the notion when he realized that Skarr was showing no signs of being alarmed. He turned his attention back to his comrades, most of which were sleeping soundly. Katie, however, was obviously faking. Every now and then as he looked at her back, Edward would catch a glimpse of her side heaving unsteadily. He was pretty sure she was crying, keeping her face turned away from him so he couldn’t see her tears. It was almost like she was ashamed to show her feelings, as if they would somehow bring the rest of the group down.
After briefly considering how to handle the problem, Edward rose and approached the shaman. Softly shaking the man and speaking in hushed tones, just loud enough that Julie could hear what he was saying—provided she was sleeping less soundly than he thought—from where she lay a few feet away, he asked Brian to search for firewood. Even though he knew it wasn’t needed, since the morning air was already warming quickly, the red-haired man yawned and nodded with a grim expression. Julie, on the other hand—who had only been resting her eyes—saw Edward’s request as a ploy to be alone with Katie. Her lips pressed together in a tight line when concern for her friend’s well-being flooded her head.
Once the shaman got to his feet and began the search, Edward sidled closer to the blonde woman. While he had spoken with Brian, he had noticed the hitch in Julie’s breathing. Keeping the expression on his face neutral in case she turned to face him, he whispered, “Why—”
“I see what you’re trying to do,” Julie interrupted quietly, craning her neck and meeting the wizard’s gaze. “She doesn’t need a man to stir up her emotions right now. She needs comfort and compassion, something that only a person she’s spent her entire life with can provide.”
His jaw unhinged in disbelief. It was almost as if the young woman had seen directly into his mind. Although, her assumptions about his intention of creating emotional turbulence was unfounded. He wanted the same thing she did, but begrudgingly admitted that she was better suited to the task. With a pained expression, Edward nodded and lowered his head in defeat.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Julie whispered, watching as the grown man absently stared at the sand by his feet like a scolded child.
“I know you didn’t,” he remarked softly, raising his moistened eyes to meet hers. “You’re just trying to do what you think is best for her. I can’t hold that against you. I would probably do the same if I were you.”
She offered him a weak smile, hoping that her words and actions were not going to have a detrimental effect on Edward, and stood. He was the best suited to lead the group, and crushing his spirit could prove to be disastrous. With a quick, backward glance, Julie approached her friend.
***
By mid-afternoon, Edward and his comrades were ready to venture further south. After Julie’s earlier intervention, Katie had finally stopped crying and fallen asleep in her friend’s arms. The rapidly aging woman seemed more like her old self now, though her graying hair and arthritic movements reminded everyone that her time was growing short in a hurry. Despite the fact she felt more comfortable when she could see her ghostly friend, Amber, Katie agreed to start their journey without her. In her heart, she knew the spirit was with them. She didn’t need to be able to see her to realize the specter was always looking out for her.
As they got underway, the situation was less than ideal. Edward had fervently hoped that Skarr would be ready to fly again, but the ancient dragon told him otherwise. It would likely be nightfall before she’d regained sufficient strength to carry the group on her back o
nce more. In the meantime, they would have to travel on foot.
It wasn’t too bad at first, the sparse population of palm trees being relatively easy to navigate, but within an hour that changed. The ground beneath their feet became more solid, instead of the sand they'd trudged through at the beginning of their long hike, which should have been a welcomed reprieve. However, as the soil gained firmness, the foliage grew thicker. They’d traded one obstacle for another, and now faced a humid tangle of underbrush and vines. To the two women in the group, it was reminiscent of the jungles in South America. Remembering the giant serpent she’d seen slithering over the gruesome compost of bones surrounding the Tree of Life, Katie half expected an enormous anaconda to strike at her from the shadows. For a snake that large, she would likely be a light snack. She’d heard stories of the behemoth reptiles swallowing a full grown cow, but she wasn’t sure how much truth was in those tales. One thing was certain, though: she had no desire to find out.
With the sun sinking low on the horizon, not that its light had been penetrating the gloom provided by the immense foliage around them, the growing blackness made it difficult to see where they were going. Thankfully, Amber didn’t require the sunset to become visible. The darkened corner of a room would have been sufficient.
Katie breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the familiar shimmering, ghostly glow. Tears of happiness streaked down her cheeks. Having not seen Amber since they'd left the northern lands, she hadn’t been sure the spirit would be able to follow them. She should have known better, though. Amber had sworn to help them, and Katie had trusted her word from day one.
***
It was late afternoon the following day when Morgana finally made landfall on the shore of the southern lands. The Black Knight’s impatience had been driven to the outer limits during the seemingly never-ending journey. He knew it would take at least half a day to sail across the ocean, but he hadn’t expected the reduction in speed caused by having to tow the Executioner’s Rage. By the same token, it would have been useless to show up on the sands of the southern land mass hours before the galley would have arrived. Even though he was nearly in a full-blown rage because of the delay, at least he had his entire army at his disposal.
Within an hour, the beach was filled with the glimmering metal forms of each and every mechanical monstrosity that had been loaded on the ships. Placing Verin in charge of the machines once more, the Black Knight boarded the galley. The greatest annoyance of the voyage, besides being forced to tow the slower vessel, had been the fact that he felt blind aboard Morgana. With all of the futuristic characteristics of the ship at his skeletal fingertips, she lacked the one thing that he prized above all else: the bank of monitors, which sat idle in the hold of the Executioner’s Rage. Although most of his abilities would seem god-like to nearly anyone he crossed paths with, the surveillance screens were the keys. Without them, he couldn’t see faraway places and things, and intervene from a distance like a true god.
The mere thought of this made his eyes grow black, hatred for what his father had done to him years ago, burning within him like an unquenchable inferno. The desire to settle the score, and take what was rightfully his, fueled his every action. One day soon, he would cast his father from the position of power he held and claim it as his own, crushing the withered god beneath him like an insect. Nothing would get in the way of that!
The captain of the galley tried to detain the Black Knight when he climbed aboard his vessel by hurling one question after another at him. His queries were ignored, the demon striding past him as if he was invisible, and disappearing down the stairs that led to the hold.
Passing through the wall at the end of the steps as if it was an open doorway, he entered the secret chamber and immediately began to scrutinize the monitors. When he found the image he was looking for, he stopped in his tracks. His claw-like toenails tapped the floorboards impatiently as he tried to determine his disciple’s location. Turning a knob beneath the screen, he swiveled the camera angle of the three-headed machine until he located George, who seemed to be asleep under a palm tree a short distance away. A sinister smile played upon the Black Knight’s hideous face, adjusting the controls under the monitor until the mortal was no longer displayed on its surface. “You’ve served your purpose, slave. You’re on your own now.”
He wasn’t sure how long he would have to wait, but got his answer a few minutes later when he began to hear a commotion overhead. At first it was only the muted scamper of bony feet rushing back and forth on the deck. The sound dwindled down shortly thereafter, and was immediately followed by a thud that shook the boards above him. His ride was here!
Chapter 21
A sharp, metallic noise jolted him from slumber. His eyelids snapped open, suddenly sure that his enemies had snuck up on him while he slept. However, George wasn’t the least bit prepared for what he saw. The mechanical beast he’d grown accustomed to extended its wings, almost as if someone was sitting upon its back and pressing the button near the base of its center neck. It seemed absurd. The intruder, if one was really there, was invisible. That fact alone should have made the feat impossible. He knew from firsthand experience that without having the substance of flesh and bone, interacting with the physical world was out of the question. As a ghostly apparition, the best he could do was take control over others by possessing them. That has to be it! Someone, or something, was infiltrating the shell of the three-headed machine. His first assumption was the formless demon in charge of the Black Knight’s army.
“You little fucking coward! Get your ass—” The rant died in his throat. George watched helplessly as his gifted steed rose into the air. Seconds later, the mechanical creature turned and headed toward the sea. He hadn’t expected that, and was forced to consider the possibility of being wrong about who or what was in control of the machine. If it was Verin, wouldn’t he be flying in the opposite direction?
His rapidly escalating anger threatened to darken his vision, and George was on his feet before he was aware that he’d risen. He jogged to the edge of the beach, the gently rolling waves lapping at the toes of his boots, and shielded his eyes from the sunlight glaring off the water with one hand. His steed circled in the sky, as if it was a vulture scouting for a carcass. After a few seconds, it descended like a dive-bombing seagull, swooping in for a meal ... yet there was no giant splash as the creature careened toward the sea. Instead, it landed with a loud thud upon the deck of a wooden warship.
It took a minute for George to comprehend what had just happened, then recognition washed over him. If he hadn’t spotted the strange, futuristic vessel—which referred to itself in a robotic voice as Morgana—he might not have put two and two together so quickly. The galley was obviously the same ship he had seen floating offshore from the edge of the cliff before he’d left the northern lands. The only thing he didn’t understand was why his steed had flown to it.
He was tempted to get a closer look, but as he gazed up the sandy shoreline he saw a swath of destruction cutting through the palm trees where the beach terminated. That could only mean one thing: the Black Knight’s army was here, and already marching south.
Temporarily distracted and immersed in thought, he didn’t notice when the three-headed machine rose from the deck of the Executioner’s Rage. It wasn’t until George heard the sound of demonic laughter above him that he turned his eyes skyward. Like a witch’s bubbling cauldron, his temper flared as he caught sight of the rider sitting on his mount’s back. The flowing black cape and the size of the figure told George it could only be the Black Knight who had stolen his steed, not that the creature had ever really been his. “Son of a fucking bitch!”
He shook his fist in the air angrily when the demon flew overhead, the mechanical beast quickly disappearing from sight as the Black Knight headed south. George paced the beach like a caged animal, trying to force his mind to work through the dilemma. Several minutes passed before the only true option presented itself to him. As good
as it felt to be within his own body—although, he preferred his original skin to the younger substitute—it had outlived its usefulness. He’d known it would be a matter of time before it came to this. It was time to leave the mortal world behind. At least for a while.
***
Amber’s presence should have uplifted the spirits of everyone, but instead it only allowed the group to see just how dire their predicament was. When they had landed in the southern lands this morning, Skarr had indicated that she wouldn’t have the strength to fly again until nightfall. At the time, it had been less of a concern than it was now. With Amber’s ghostly glow to light their path, Edward’s hopes sank. There was no way the ancient dragon would be flying anytime soon. The dense, jungle foliage was barely providing enough room to move, and if the humans of the party were having trouble pushing their way through the thick underbrush, Skarr would definitely not have room to spread her wings.
As if that was not bad enough, an hour ago they had begun to hear the familiar crashing of falling trees to their rear. Edward had hoped that by flying across the ocean, he and his friends had left the mechanical army behind like a bad memory. Unfortunately, the commotion behind them said otherwise. Not only had he been wrong to assume they were safe, it was beginning to look like a confrontation was inevitable, and much sooner than he’d anticipated. He glanced at Katie nervously, knowing that she would be less and less useful as time passed. Unless, of course, the battle would hold off until they reached the Throne of the Gods. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem likely.
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