Celesia couldn’t see him. The floating dust snuffed the life out of their torches, making her father cough. “Buff Key? You’ve found us. I can’t believe it’s you!”
“What’s all that racket in there?” called the guard behind the heavy door.
When it opened, Celesia heard a thudded blow. The guard stumbled unconscious into the prison, his torch landing on the floor. Its flame stayed afire. Celesia ran to Buff Key and wrapped her arms around his bulky frame. The dwarf awed as he returned the embrace.
Dwarves filed into the cell and marched out the door with shouts of engagement and clashing weapons. The mage’s barred window blasted from the walls, and the elves scampered from their cells. Axes and hammers shattered their shackles to pieces. The dwarves carried a sack of weapons into the dungeon and distributed them. Most of these weapons were simple, wooden mallets.
Buff Key bowed in front of Celesia. “Never thought we’d save you again, using the same tactics, I mean,” he said. “The battle’s underway, Your Highness. In all my days, I have never imagined a more glorious assemblage of creatures of magics. Dragon knows how to fight!”
Lýnivad sat up. “Good to see you, General.”
“Your Highness,” Buff Key said, bowing even lower. “An honor to aid the husband of Clariön, and father of Celesia. Rest here while we reclaim your thrones.”
“No.” The king took the fallen guard’s sword. “I will fight to preserve the realm of my fathers. No one fights for my kingdom while I stand and watch!”
“You mustn’t,” Celesia encouraged him to rest.
“I will fight,” he said. “No more will I cower from rumors. I will stand by them and face the tyrant who has enslaved my kingdom. I am no coward!”
“It is your daughter who must do this,” Sarandretta interjected. “Colby Jack has informed me of Flint’s plan. Once every prisoner is armed, they are to storm the courtyard and the main hall until the drawbridge is down. Once the siege moves in, Flint will enter the keep and fight with Alkivar. You must be there when Flint arrives, Celesia. The name you have discovered will change him into a human again. Only then can he touch the Dragon’s Heart, and put an end to Alkivar.”
Celesia understood. She had to enter the keep and face Alkivar in his laboratory, but she wasn’t familiar with battles of a grand scale. “Alkivar has something in store for Flint if he tries to fight. I saw it in the keep. How will I protect Flint from Alkivar’s trap?”
“The enchantment from your mother and I will give you protection from foul magic.” Sarandretta pointed at the floor behind Celesia. “With that, you will be fine.”
On the stone floor was the quaternary.
Surprised, Celesia picked it up and unsheathed the blade. The silvery steel extended beyond the scabbard.
No longer a dagger, but a sword. Five times longer than the dagger had been, and just as beautiful. Hard to imagine it was the same blade that had tethered itself to her. The grip was warm. The edges sparkled blue.
“Why has it come back to me now?”
“I think I understand,” Sarandretta said. “The sword of a wizard may reveal itself when truth is discovered, and doubly so if the blade isn’t in the possession of its wizard, but I could be wrong on that. You must have found Flint’s true name. No other reason can change an enchanted dagger into a sword like that. You must make haste to the keep before the courtyard is taken.”
Celesia held the sword tight. “I hope you’re right.”
“Use the secret passage at the top of the stairs, in the main hall,” Lýnivad said. “I imagine no one is guarding the cardinal’s portrait, but there will be men in the hall.”
Buff Key raised a pickaxe. “You needn’t fight alone!”
“Oye!” howled the rest of the dwarves in unison.
“Agreed,” Sarandretta added, accepting a mace from Colby Jack. “You will not fight this alone. We are in this together. The evils of the Alchemist will be stopped!”
“You won’t kill the men on the other side, will you?” Celesia hesitated to the idea of taking a life. “Alkivar is controlling them. How do we fight without casualties?”
Sarandretta smiled as she placed one of her hands on her shoulder. “A battle can be fought without death, but is hard if the other side doesn’t share your concern.”
“We’ll just knock’em over their heads,” Buff Key suggested. “Clip their knees, perhaps?”
Cruel options, but better than none. “That will do,” she agreed. “Clout and clip to your heart’s content.”
“Erdwyn will give you her arms as well!” Brookwind shouted like a mouse whose tail was stepped on. All the elves, ready with their weapons, echoed the charge.
Enthralled by their spirit, Celesia ran headlong into the corridor. Several unconscious men were sitting upright. Some of the dwarves were resting their elbows on their heads, taking a breather after bashing every cell lock. Several more dwarves stood at the ready, handing each captive a weapon as they stepped into the corridor. They gawked with disbelief. Although this was common for Celesia now, she had to bear in mind that this was everyone’s first encounter with creatures of magic. The best was yet to come, once they reached level ground.
˙ ˚ ˚ ˚ ˙
They encountered no opposition when they reached the spiraled stairs. The flighty feet of the dwarves and elves were so eager, they treaded her heels by accident. Their ascent came to a halt. Crumbled stones blocked their way—trapped. Buff Key spat in his hands before raising his pickaxe. “Stand back! We don’t want rock chips flying into your eyes or anythings.”
“No time for that.” Sarandretta stepped ahead of the dwarf. “The way they shackled my wrists prevented me from casting magic. I’m itching to cast a spell now!”
The old mage parted her hands, and she uttered an incantation that caused the rubble to push back into place. Her magic was strong; too strong. An unintended tunnel bored through the foundation without warning.
Afternoon sunlight spilled through the end of the burrow. Celesia watched as Sarandretta lowered her hands and smiled, looking pleased with her handiwork.
I have to find another way to the main hall ...
The sky outside was cloudy, but a sunburst cast a ray of light on the castle. The walls and bastions thundered with marching men. Trebuchets hurtled stones over the river. Reinforcements awaited by the castle gate. One of the five great towers had fallen to the ground. That must have been the crash they had heard. At the ruin’s base was the airship, broken and burning. Celesia heard a distinct roar in the air. She looked to the sky. Flint flew around the castle with evasive circles.
“For LaVóndia!” cried Buff Key. “For magic!”
The gathering prisoners no longer went unnoticed. Half of the opposition charged to meet them. The elves and dwarves equaled their stride, and brandished their weapons, while Alkivar’s men stood by the main hall’s entrance. Celesia ran up the courtyard with Sarandretta, Buff Key and Brookwind by her side, watching as the dwarves and elves clobbered their opponents. Hundreds of enemy soldiers deserted their posts to assist their comrades. She was close to the doors when a tall figure blocked them, swinging a broadsword at Celesia’s head. She deflected his stroke with Ereman’s sword and made a swing of her own, leaving a gush on his leg. He cried as he raised his sword, but a large blue fist appeared and thumped the man over the head. His eyes crossed over as he fell. Like out of thin air, the ogre had appeared.
“Groth!” Celesia said. “The cloak—how?”
The ogre unfastened the cloak. “Thought it might be useful,” he said. “Thank our fairy friend. She untied me. I grabbed this from the furnace, and I sabotaged that flying ship.” He grinned as he kicked an approaching swordsman in the face. “Take that, you blighter!”
“When this is over, I will give you a kiss.”
Groth blushed. “Stand behind me, Princess.”
Another wave of warriors ran straight for them. They were outnumbered. Groth removed the seashell from under h
is armpit and blew a long gust into the hole. A trumpeting sound filled the air, which was followed by a commotion beyond the outer wall. A towering figure of King Typonus rose above the walls, formed from the waters of the river. His muscular frame ascended over the outer wall and crashed into Alkivar’s reserves, the wave somersaulting his men across the courtyard.
Groth chuckled as he confidently tossed the shell in the air. The Call of Alantica vanished before it returned to his hand. “At least we have a fighting chance.”
Celesia pointed at the entrance of the main hall. “I need your help, Groth. I must reach the keep before Flint confronts Alkivar. Help me with those men?”
Groth was about to answer, but something distracted him. Dark clouds formed out of nowhere. A burst of wind knocked some creatures to the ground. Lightning hit the courtyard many times, coming from the high balcony of the keep. A white flash struck and froze a handful of elves, morphing them into statues of brass.
“Look out, Princess!” Groth pushed her aside.
There was another bright flash, and Celesia heard a crack when she stopped tumbling. The ogre’s body had stiffened, just like the others who fell victim to Alkivar’s transmutator. Celesia stared in disbelief at the frozen ogre. He didn’t move, his concern for her safety carved on the bark of a statue, made of cherry wood. She cried as she touched the grainy timber of his stomach. He had given up his life and dreams to keep her safe.
Lýnivad grabbed her by the shoulder. “Come, my daughter. Our fight is for nothing if you stop here.”
Tears welled in her eyes, but she couldn’t stop to mourn. A sudden swarm of darting light swept over the castle walls. Alkivar’s men were swatting at their heads. The fairies had joined the fight. When enough of the soldiers were distracted, the stable doors smashed open. Hilander and a dozen other horses galloped for the gates. Most of the army darted away from the stampede, creating a weakness in their defenses. A bright spark lit the courtyard from a broken chain on the drawbridge.
The siege was moving in.
“Hurry, dearie!” Sarandretta guided Celesia to the steps of the main hall. Buff Key and Brookwind joined them, having suffered only minor wounds. “You race up those stairs and find Alkivar before Flint does.”
They darted into the main hall, surprised by how vacant it was. They ran for the stairs, their commotion arousing a number of armored men from the dining hall. They blocked both stairs and raised their arms. Celesia and the others did likewise. The clash of metal reverberated off the walls. Celesia had to reach the keep, but there was no path wide enough for her to wedge through. Just then, a familiar light seized the eyelashes of her opponent, and yanked them out.
Taika was back.
The fairy flew close to her shoulder and pointed at a section of stairs that she had cleared. Lifting the skirt of her dress, Celesia ran as fast as she could. She jumped over the first three steps, and continued without looking back. Alkivar’s men followed her. The painting of the cardinal was within reach, when it swung open from the other side. Dálcort emerged from the secret passage.
Celesia froze in disbelief. This was impossible. It couldn’t be him! Mavarco had thrown him off the dirigible. She saw it happen. No one could survive a fall like that. He should’ve been dead. Dálcort displayed a triumphant smile before he withdrew his sword and jumped on top of the banister. He slid past Celesia and jumped into a row of men who tried to stop her.
“Your dragon saved my life,” Dálcort explained as he blocked the blows in front of him. “Our lives are in your hands. Stop staring at me and make haste!”
Celesia nodded as she closed the canvas behind her.
The sounds of battle faded as she moved deeper into the inner walls. Dálcort wasn’t just alive again—he was on their side. Even though she loathed every fragment of his being, she was grateful for his assistance.
No one else was in the passageway. Flint’s true name repeated itself in her mind as she reached the library. No guards stood watch at the keep’s entrance. It was her hope that this would not be Alkivar’s last mistake.
Chapter 26
Battling the Beast
Celesia inched her way into Alkivar’s keep, and scaled the stairs with careful steps. Alkivar’s mirth resonated above her, intertwined with the dreaded sound of the deadly thunder-rods he was using. Flint wasn’t there yet, and she wondered how he was going to enter the keep. There was no opening large enough to accommodate him, unless he made one himself.
She scurried up the landing, and climbed to another. There was no sign of danger when she reached the next landing, with the balcony where she and Mavarco had peered into the grounds together. Alkivar was throwing jagged bolts of light into the battle with his hands. He wasn’t using a machine. He was transmutating her allies in the courtyard through his science and magic alone.
“I am pleased to see you, Princess,” the Alchemist jeered as he turned. “I saw you enter the main hall. I knew you would come to your senses and join me.”
She raised her sword. The fire on its edge returned. “I won’t let you harm any more of my friends.”
Alkivar examined her sword and scowled. He then smiled again, without appearing provoked. “You limit my good intentions by holding the sword of Ereman, the same weapon he used to shatter the Dragon’s Heart. I had a feeling your dagger was more than it seemed, a perfect tribute to your emperor. It will compliment my talents. Hand me the sword and I may spare you.”
“Your magic will run off me like water.”
Alkivar laughed as he raised his hand. “If only that were true!” One of the small tables to the left of Celesia hurdled itself toward her. She saw this and swung the sword, slicing the wooden bench in half. Another object tried to knock her over the side. Books, a globe, and a shelf flew after her next, until she was compelled to fall on the floor. Alkivar stepped away from the balcony and moved toward her with monotonous steps.
“Your influence may not let me touch you with my magic directly,” he said, pressing the tips of his fingers together, exactly as Mavarco had once done. “There are many indirect ways. So. What should I attempt next?”
Celesia noticed a dark figure behind the alchemist, gliding beyond the open archway. It was coming closer, about to smash through the stonework. Alkivar ducked. Gritty fragments rained over them as a black dragon soared into the keep. The creature unfurled his wings and glided to the opposite wall. Alkivar abandoned Celesia and ran up the stairs. The dragon perched at a vertical slant on the wall—glaring at the alchemist.
“Don’t! Touch! Her!” Flint roared
Alkivar reached the top of the landing. “At last we meet, dragon! You look well, grown up and matured, compared to our last meeting. Your metamorphosis has given you unmeasured protection and extended your life, far longer than a human is allowed to live.”
“I haven’t come to banter. Fight me!”
Alkivar reached his hand under his vest and held up the glowing stone. “Do you really think you can enter my realm with a belligerent stance and expect me to back down, now that I am reunited with the Dragon’s Heart? What a most interesting delusion. Your feeble princess tried to do the same thing before you crashed in. Now I must resort to killing the both of you.”
“Leave her, brother. Your quarrel is with me.”
Celesia’s eyes widened. Yes, they were brothers, and they were going to fight each other with every magical means at their disposal. Alkivar lashed a spell at Flint. The dragon raised his claw and rescinded an orange light. Flint tried to do the same back, but Alkivar was just as repellant. They stared at each other in a standstill, an impasse without solution. “You were given a century to develop the magic that heredity has bestowed upon you,” Alkivar deduced. “I had the same amount of time to perfect my science. You can’t best me.”
“Crossing science and magic suppresses true magic.” Flint drew his eyes into a tight snare as he scaled down the walls. “Your greed and envy is your weakness.”
Alkivar roared as
he threw another spell at Flint. The dragon dodged it, and shifted his head to the right. A small hole simmered in the wall, sizzling the stones.
“I have the Dragon’s Heart, the power once shared by all of LaVóndia. There is no wizard left who can save you. Celesia may be invulnerable to magic, but science can destroy her. I shall do so after I kill you!”
Flint opened his great jaws and hissed like a serpent. Fire flew from his mouth and struck the landing where Alkivar stood. He shielded himself with an invisible force by raising his arms, leaving the wood around him burned. The floor at his feet glowed red. The dragon couldn’t keep this up for long. Alkivar brushed embers and ashes from his shoulders without a hint of fear. A few torches had lit behind him. Celesia hadn’t noticed them, when she was with Mavarco. Alkivar removed a torch and walked to the edge, where she had fallen.
Laughing, he extended the torch over the edge.
“By your fire will you be dashed to pieces!”
He released his grip. The fiery torch sputtered and landed on the covered mound. Doubt and dismay filled Celesia as the cloth caught fire. A creature rose from the turbulent flames. Red eyes caught sight of her, Flint and Alkivar with a single glance, as three fiery heads roared from the metal body of a mechanical dragon. The beast stomped forward, creating charred footprints in the wood floor. An intolerable heat radiated from it, like a passionate furnace. Flint swooped down from the wall, blocking the creature from advancing toward Celesia.
The beast released its own wings and flung its tail at Flint. He seized it with his talons and threw it aside.
Alkivar raised his arms and laughed. “Behold my Fire Elemental! The battle of Trisontia was merely a test for this. Those who rebel will feel its fire. You are next!”
“I hope it’s more challenging than the last one.”
“Elemental!” Alkivar snarled. “Destroy them!”
“Find a place to hide, Celesia,” Flint whispered as he tensed for the fight. “If I stop this monster, I will carry you to safety. And then I will finish Alkivar alone.”
The Dragon's Heart Page 27