Cryo Knight
Page 27
But instead, he folded his arms and leant back against the wall.
“We made it,” she said with a half-smile.
“We did,” Christian said. “But this is just the beginning. While we are floating around in this fortress, Sark is down there, amassing an army of Fire Demons. You know he won’t stop.”
Almost sensing his words, the fortress dipped to one side.
Alexia reached her hand out to steady herself, and Christian caught it. Their
palms touched, flesh to flesh.
Alexia squeezed his hand gently. “I feel like I should have told you about Lord
Alishahi. I just… I didn’t know if we would make it out. I almost didn’t want to hope too much. When we were with Sark, and it was just me and you, things were different and they felt different. Now I’m back here, it all feels different again.” She snorted a pitiful laugh. “God, that’s a terrible way of explaining it. I’ve been an asshole, I’m sorry. I should have said I was in a relationship.”
“Yeah, you should have,” Christian said. “But it’s okay. You saved my life out there. Many times. We are a good team. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else watching my back, Alexia.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else but the Ice Knight by my side,” Alexia said.
“The Cryo Knight, you mean.” He pulled her hand in and they embraced.
Christian could feel that there was something there. The way her breath
quickened slightly in his arms, the way her hand gripped behind his waist. Christian could feel it. She kissed his cheek.
She rested her forehead for a second against his jaw and then she pulled away suddenly, stopping herself from whatever it was she was thinking.
The moment was gone. She stepped backwards, towards the door; her hand found the door handle.
“I think I better go now. See you later, Christian.”
He took a long look at her. “See you soon.”
An icicle of hope spun inside Christian’s chest.
It’s not over, he thought.
He had come to Valeria a shell of a man. Now he was so much more.
Opening his Stat Screen, he knew what he needed to do. He thought again of his vision – the dark mistakes of his past; the people whose deaths he had caused, coming back and tearing apart Sark, Sulfur and Arnook.
It seemed to be a message. At least it was to him. He had killed Sulfur.
One down two to go, he thought.
He placed all ten of his stat points into Intelligence, dramatically increasing his ice-power, growing it to 39. He could feel the new energy lace through his veins. He had to grip the side of the mirror as the surge in power almost took his breath away, but it felt amazing.
He stared at his reflection and saw the area around his eyes had darkened. The veins there were close to the surface, dark with blue tinge under them. They slowly retreated and his face returned to normal.
My power is changing me.
A servant knocked on his door. “The Artificer has sent me to fetch you.”
“I’m ready,” Christian said.
He reviewed his Stat Screen one final time.
Christian Lawson
Level 13
Build: KnightAffinity: Ice
Health: 320/320Mana: 500/500
XP: 5975/6300
Stats:
Points to Distribute: 0
Strength 23 – Stamina 16 – Intelligence 40 – Dexterity 12 – Willpower 25
Ashana [1/3 Heart Stones]: +15 Strength +10 Intelligence +5 Willpower
A heart given willingly: +50% resistance to Blight, +50% resistance to Poison
Well look at that.
He equipped Ashana. The new heart gem sparkled a dark red in the center of the blade. And with two empty slots to go, he wondered what extra powers they would hold.
He followed the servant out. He was joined by Alexia. Then the witch Elronda strode from her quarters; she had washed and was finally out of her rags, wearing clean white robes. Finally, a terrified handler was being pulled along by the snarling sabretooth, who joined them as they marched together.
Guards pushed open the double doors that let out towards the great hall. The hall was filled with his uncle’s allies, powerful warriors who stood as they entered. His uncle banged his war ax on the ground with a loud crack as everyone stood.
A hundred lords gazed towards them.
“This is my nephew,” James called out. “He has fought in many wars around my home world as a soldier. He shall stand at my side here in Valeria as we seek to overthrow the Demon Lord Sark and the great Demon Arnook. Come in Christian, it is time for us to begin our plans.”
Epilogue
Christian knew that despite the danger it was worth it. It was something he had to set right.
He padded through the forest in the dark, the sabretooth moved silently alongside him. The only sound was the light crunch of the frosted forest ground beneath their feet. The portal stones that had transported them had deposited them a mile deep into the forest. They couldn’t risk being seen from their glow.
He hoped his quarry would be here; it was a lot to risk.
Ahead, he saw the lights of the town. Plumes of smoke curled up into the cold night’s air.
They slowly followed the town’s curved walls around; one part was slightly lower than the rest. Christian waited until the guards had passed, and then ran at the wall. He kicked off its surface and reached up. His fingertips found a handhold and he pulled himself up climbing the rest of the way. The sabretooth pounced up the wall and followed behind.
Up on the ramparts they turned back on themselves, heading to the rear of town.
Christian studied the rows of houses below. Then with a fluid movement, he dropped down. The sabretooth landed next to him.
Together they traversed street by street, until they found the house. The door was a mess. A few pieces of wood nailed together.
A child’s work. It won’t be doing much to keep out the cold.
The inside was lit by a single candle that flickered in the wind.
Christian pushed open the door to see Arthur Podsworth inside. The boy was shivering under some blankets beside an empty hearth. His face was pale, eyes stared out from hollow cheeks, he looked like he was starving.
Around him, the place was a mess. Dirty plates were left untouched.
“Hey kid,” he said.
“Christian?” Arthur’s eyes were wide and got even wider when the sabretooth padded in behind Christian.
“Don’t worry about the sabretooth, he’s a friend.”
“What are y-you doing here?” Arthur managed to stammer.
“I know it won’t bring your father back, but I killed the man that took his life. I wanted to offer you the chance to join us; me and my uncle against Sark and his men. You’d be treated well, and I will train you. Your father helped me, and I owe him. I’ll look after you the best I can.”
Arthur looked from Christian to the sabretooth. “You’re fighting Sark?”
“Yes, we are.”
Arthur nodded. “Let me get my bow.”
Together, they ran back through the alleys of Beaverton. The sabretooth had let Arthur get on his back and Arthur clung on, with fistfuls of the creature’s white fur in his pale hands. There was a brightness in Arthur’s eyes that wasn’t there before.
They traversed up the steps to the ramparts. In the distance Beaverton’s guards slowly walked towards them. Christian vaulted off the wall and sprayed ice with one hand. He slid down the icy surface and rolled at the base. The sabretooth leapt down in a single pounce, its muscles rippling in the moonlight. Within a few strides they were into the forest. They ran deeper into the woods towards the portal stones.
Finally, they reached them. Christian stood in the circle of the portal stones.
“Stand next to me kid,” he said.
Arthur shuffled close and the sabretooth stood to his side.
“Ready?” Christian said
.
Arthur nodded.
This is how it starts, Christian thought as the white light enveloped them.
THE END
Afterword
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Cryo Knight! I hope you’ve enjoyed the first installment of the series.
My goal with this story was to try and capture some of the amazing moments I’ve loved from my favorite RPG games. The feeling of accomplishment from levelling up in Final Fantasy VII, the long quests from Elder Scrolls and a little romance from Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
If I’ve managed to bottle any of that magic and you enjoyed it – please leave your review on Amazon. That would mean the world to me. It’s how us authors get discovered and are allowed to continue this amazing job of crafting worlds and stories for you. Please click the link here to leave your review.
I’m not saying good reviews will affect the speed of the sequel coming out but… they will, they definitely will! If you’ve done that – thank you! I’ve planned the next book to be much longer, with more battles, more drama and more romance… it should be a wild ride.
If you have more feedback that you’d like to share, please head over to www.tejjohnson.com and reach out. I love to meet those who have taken the time to read my books.
I’d recommend you join the following Facebook groups to talk to other readers and gain recommendations.
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The final thing I’ll say is I’m just getting started on my writing journey. If you’re interested in reading more of my work you can subscribe to my newsletter at www.tejjohnson.com and interact with me in all those social network places.
See you in the next book.
Cheers,
Tim
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Copyright © Tim Johnson, 2020
The right of Tim Johnson to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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