“I’m fine. What did you find out?”
“Not much,” Edward said. “They had nothing on them save weapons and clothes. We found no sign of Malachi either, so we have to assume he went to warn whoever this lot reports to. We laid the bodies in an empty stall. There’s one thing you’ll want to see for yourself.”
Jen raised an eyebrow, but Edward shook his head as if he had no clue how to explain whatever he wanted to show her.
She got up, wobbled a bit, and belted on her sword. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
Edward led the way out of the back room to the stables themselves. He pushed open the first stall. The man she’d dueled lay in the center, his weird armor exposed for them all to see.
Following her gaze, Edward said, “It’s not armor. The scales are growing out of him.”
She glanced at her second, but he clearly wasn’t joking. Jen drew her sword and pried at the scales. They really were attached to his flesh. How the hell did that happen? She knew a Dragon was involved, but a dragon man? It sounded like something out of a story.
The seven-star tattoo drew her attention. She’d only defeated him by the skin of her teeth. If the bandit at the inn was a ten-star, how much more powerful was he than this one? She didn’t want to think about it. And she really didn’t want to think about what they were going to do if an eight- or nine-star was leading this gang.
Jen was feeling rapidly out of her depth. Still, they needed more information before they returned to the baron’s castle. It didn’t take a genius to guess some of what the archmage would ask and Jen still didn’t know most of the answers.
“Let’s have a look at their camp,” Jen said.
“Are you sure you’re up to it, Commander?” Alec asked.
The look she shot him made his throat work as he tried to swallow.
“I’ll saddle the horses.” Alec beat a hasty retreat.
Rhys moved up beside her. “He was worried about you, we all were.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m okay and we have a mission to finish.” When he didn’t move Jen added, “I promise I won’t do anything crazy, okay? We check the camp, look for something that’ll tell us where their main base is, and contact the archmage for reinforcements. I don’t plan on dying out here or getting you guys killed. It’s pretty clear we’ve fallen into something huge.”
“I’d say a guy covered in dragon scales is as huge as it gets short of an actual dragon,” Rhys said.
“Horses are ready,” Talon said.
They mounted up and Talon took point, leading them out of town and down a dirt track. As they rode, Jen turned her focus inward. Her core was regenerating, but slower than she’d expected. Hopefully the strain hadn’t done any permanent damage. Damien mentioned something like this happening to him when he drained his core too much. He recovered, so she wasn’t too worried.
About five miles out of town, they turned off the main road and down an animal trail. Their route quickly turned from field to scrub land to forest. The whole way Talon picked his path without a moment’s hesitation.
Three hours after they left Simonsville they reached a clearing filled with tents camouflaged by branches and nets. If you weren’t looking for it, you might ride right by. Someone had spent a lot of time setting this place up. That gave her hope that they might finally find something useful.
“Keep your distance,” Talon said. “I don’t want you messing up the signs.”
He dismounted and tossed his reins to Alec before entering the clearing. Talon made his methodical way around the area, pausing here and there to crouch for a closer look. When he’d completed a full circuit around the clearing, he rejoined them.
“One rider headed dead south. Tracks are fresh, maybe three hours old.”
“Malachi,” Jen muttered. She chewed her lip and considered. “Talon, take Alec and follow them. Don’t cross into the Bandit Kingdom on your own. We’ll catch up after we’ve had a look around.”
Talon nodded, mounted his horse, and led Alec out of the clearing. Jen and the others got down and tied their horses to some saplings.
“Quick and thorough, guys,” she said. “I don’t want him getting too far ahead of us.”
Her team spread out and got to work, each taking a tent. Jen chose the biggest for herself on the assumption that it would be the command post. She’d yet to meet a commander that didn’t want the biggest tent.
The inside of the tent held little beyond necessities and a map-covered table. A simple sleeping pallet ran along one wall. At its foot sat a pair of saddlebags and that was it. She’d deal with the bags in a moment. First the map. It showed all the border baronies in detail, including small towns, streams, and bridges. Jen doubted the barons themselves had a map this complete. Beside many of the towns were notes written in a language she didn’t recognize. The characters resembled crossed lines more than letters.
She rolled it into a tight tube. Maybe the archmage could make something of the writing. Now the saddlebags. Jen thunked them onto the table. They jingled with the familiar sound of coins. She ran her dagger around the edges of the flaps to make sure no nasty surprises waited and when she found nothing flipped them open.
Pouches and pouches of coin, nothing useful. After a quick count she guessed there was around a thousand gold royals and twice that in silver crowns. A considerable haul, but given what they collected in Drevlin, far less than she expected. Where did the rest of the money go?
She didn’t know, but her gut said the answers waited wherever Malachi had raced off to. Time to catch up with Talon.
Chapter Fifty-Two
The journey took over a day since Marie-Bell and Imogen needed to sleep for a few hours and neither was willing to do it without the other keeping watch. Maybe the undead master would honor its word, but neither of them trusted the monster enough to sleep with one of its minions ten feet away.
The dark slog finally ended at a smashed-in section of wall. The zombie pointed at the opening, turned, and shuffled back the way they’d come.
Marie-Bell ran a finger along the flat stone. The work was rough, but definitely manmade. Looked like the undead had broken their way into the palace basement. She grinned. Wind Walker wasn’t going to be happy. If they were lucky, maybe they could snatch the sword and be gone before the demon even knew they were here.
Marie-Bell glanced at Imogen and the sorcerer nodded. Together, they stepped through the ragged opening and into the Mad King’s Palace. Thick dust covered the floor. It didn’t look like anyone had been down here for a long time. Marie-Bell increased the flow of soul force to the head of her hammer, revealing the rest of the empty room.
A doorway that had long ago lost its door led deeper into the basement. They marched out and down the long hall, pausing in each door to glance in. All the rooms were as empty as the first. Marie-Bell wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t dust and empty rooms.
“Do you think this was a storage area?” Marie-Bell asked.
“Most likely,” Imogen said. “Towards the end, history says the Mad King was served only by demons.”
Marie-Bell shuddered and pushed on. There weren’t even any cobwebs – that would’ve required living spiders. How crazy was it that she actually wanted to see spiders? At this point, anything but zombies and demons would be welcome.
The hall ended at a T intersection. Nothing indicated the way up, so Marie-Bell turned left. They found three more empty storage rooms before finally stumbling onto the staircase leading to the floor above.
“At last,” Marie-Bell said.
The steps led to a small alcove beside a huge, open space. As far as she could tell, this level was a single large room.
“Heaven’s mercy,” Imogen said. “Have you ever seen a door like that?”
Marie-Bell adjusted her light so it shone toward the far end of the chamber. A black stone door that reached nearly to the high ceiling was covered in twisted runes. The demonic markings gave her a chill.
The black stone radiated corruption more powerful than anything they’d encountered so far except for Wind Walker.
Imogen took a step toward it. “Can you read any of those runes?”
Marie-Bell caught her arm. “No, and I don’t want to. Nothing behind that door will do anyone any good. Let’s find the sword and get out of here.
“Right, right, sorry.” Imogen gave a shake of her head. “I felt a little bewitched for a moment.”
“Plenty of demons are good at that. The sooner we put some distance between us and the door, the happier I’ll be.” Suiting her actions to her words, Marie-Bell practically jogged toward the opposite end of the room.
Another staircase waited, but this one was sealed at the far end. There had to be a way to open it, but Marie-Bell suspected it involved dark magic. She hefted her hammer. Lucky for them, there were other ways to open a sealed door.
“Wait here, I don’t want to hit you with any debris.”
Marie-Bell climbed the steps and ran a finger over the stone. It was smooth and flawless. Some magic had been used to create it, that was certain.
She drew back, sent soul force surging into her back and arms, and swung. The hammer struck and stone blew up and out, opening a hole big enough to poke her head through. Dim light streamed into the staircase.
Three more blows reduced the door to rubble. Marie-Bell climbed out into a library, the biggest she’d ever seen. The whole room crackled with protective magics. Not the dangerous kind, but the kind that kept valuable items safe from time and decay. The thousands of books looked as good as the day they were bound. The contents of this room was probably worth more gold than she could count.
Imogen’s gasp confirmed her suspicion. “I never dreamed… There are more books here than in the Tower.”
Beyond remarkably clear windows, the Demon Wind still raged. If Wind Walker were one with the storm, he would see them all too quickly.
“We can’t stay here,” Marie-Bell said.
“Right, where to?”
“How should I know?”
“Can’t you sense the sword? Its power is similar to the armor so that should give you something to go on.”
Marie-Bell nearly slapped her forehead at her own stupidity. Of course she could sense the sword. Her angel said as much when he set her on this quest. With everything that had happened, she’d forgotten.
She closed her eyes and reached out, questing for a speck of light in the darkness. While she searched, Marie-Bell had no sense of time. Eventually she felt it, a tiny golden spark so faint she almost passed over it. The sword wasn’t far away, maybe a hundred yards northwest.
When she opened her eyes, she blinked at the shadowy curtain surrounding them. “What’s this?”
“Camouflage,” Imogen said. “You’ve been looking for half an hour. It’s probably a waste of time, but I figured why not try something?”
“Sorry, but the sword is close. Follow me.”
Marie-Bell led the way out of the library, down a hall, and around a pair of corners until they reached a shattered door. Beyond the door a throne sat upon a raised dais. A faded red carpet led up to it, but Marie-Bell only had eyes for the beautiful two-handed sword lying on the floor. A headless skeleton rested beside the weapon, a bony hand still on the hilt.
All paladins knew the legend of Aquaria marching out alone to cleanse the Haunted Lands. An impossible quest designed to inspire the fledgling order to greater heights. To think she’d made it this far.
“Is that it?” Imogen asked, her voice hushed and reverent.
“Yes.”
Marie-Bell took three steps into the throne room before the wind shrieked and roared through a hole in the ceiling. Wind Walker appeared between her and the holy blade.
“Tsk, tsk. No claiming the prize until you finish your task.” The demon gave a sad shake of his shadowy head. “The dead king still lives, for lack of a better word. I’m very disappointed in you, paladin. I thought we had a deal.”
Marie-Bell shrugged. “The zombie master made me a better offer. I didn’t need you to let me in therefore I don’t consider our contract valid.”
“You’d make a fine demon, splitting hairs like that. Still, I won’t let you have the sword until the undead is put down. Now run along and finish your chore.”
“No.”
Marie-Bell swung her hammer and sent a wave of divine soul force roaring toward Wind Walker. The black figure vanished long enough to let her attack pass then reappeared.
The demon shook his head. “Didn’t I warn you that sort of thing was useless against me? We can play this game all day if you want, but the only way for you to get your precious sword is to do my work.”
Imogen sent a beam with a hand on the end toward the sword, but a dark lance blasted it to shards.
Marie-Bell screamed in frustration, put every bit of her power into her shield, and charged. Ten steps later a gust of wind picked her up and slammed her into the back wall. She took no damage, but it was clear brute force wasn’t going to accomplish anything.
The demon’s blank face gave away nothing, but she could almost feel Wind Walker’s amusement. Marie-Bell was going to make him regret underestimating her if it was the last thing she did.
Chapter Fifty-Three
The line between the Bandit Kingdom and the baronies was surprisingly sharp. The trees ended then there was maybe fifty feet of evergreen shrubs, then the baked hardscrabble of the badlands. Nothing for as far as the eye could see save cacti, buttes, and the occasional giant lizard. In its own way, the Bandit Kingdom was every bit as inhospitable as the Ice Queen’s frozen domain.
They caught up with Talon and Alec not far from the border. Her scout had informed her that Malachi had ridden straight into the wastes. Now Jen found herself facing that barren landscape with a decision to make.
The question before her was, did they follow or fall back? What was the greater risk? Following was certainly a greater risk to their lives, but the kingdom expected them to take that chance. It was part of a warlord’s job. Getting what information they’d already acquired back to the archmage was vital as well. If they fell here, someone else would have to start from scratch
She wished Damien was with her and not just for his raw power. He could have sent a message scroll to the archmage with what they’d learned so far. But Damien wasn’t with her, no sorcerer was.
“He’s getting further ahead by the moment,” Talon said. His tone indicated his preference, but he was too aggressive by half.
“I’m aware.” Jen cursed silently and creatively. They’d be too easy to spot on horseback. “Edward, take Rhys and all the intel we’ve collected back to the baron. Talon, Alec and I are going to follow Malachi.”
“I’m not sure splitting up is a good idea, Commander,” Edward said.
If he was questioning her decisions Edward must have been really concerned. She didn’t blame him, Jen was pretty concerned herself. That didn’t change what needed to happen.
“You’re right, it’s a terrible idea. Unfortunately, two things need to happen and you guys are the slowest. Who knows, we might catch up to you before you get to the castle. Now move.”
A glum Edward collected everything they’d found, gave her one last, forlorn look and turned his horse around. Rhys gathered the other mounts and followed.
One look in Talon’s direction was all it took to get him underway. They followed the blurred tracks at one-quarter warlord speed. She feared he was holding back out of concern for her, but a second look at the vague trail made it clear they couldn’t rush. At least that was what she told herself. Whatever the reason, the easy pace suited her and gave her core a chance to fully recover.
After three hours and probably twenty miles of loping along, Talon stopped and pointed. “There he is.”
Jen enhanced her vision and even so could just make out the skinny figure on the blown horse plodding in the distance. She shifted her gaze further up his path. Nothing there but mor
e of the same.
“He’s liable to keel over before he gets wherever he’s going,” Alec said, giving voice to her thoughts.
“Maybe not,” Talon said. “Something’s moving.”
Jen squinted, trying to refine her vision further. After a moment of study, she noticed a spot of shifting sand. A door opened, revealing a dark passage into the earth. Malachi guided his horse down a ramp and out of sight.
Looked like they’d finally found the enemy base. That happy thought had barely formed when a dark-skinned head appeared at the top of the ramp.
“Down!” Jen hissed.
They dropped flat and she gave a silent prayer that the lookout hadn’t noticed them. With any luck he didn’t have eyes as sharp as Talon’s.
“He’s going back in and the door is closing,” Talon said.
She blew out a breath. They’d dodged an arrow this time.
“Think you could find this place again?” Jen asked.
Talon nodded. “No problem.”
“Good. Let’s go collect some sorcerers to obliterate them.” Jen turned to begin the long jog back to the castle.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Marie-Bell picked herself up off the floor and brushed the dust off her pants. She’d wear the demon down no matter how long it took. Wind Walker seemed to need her to kill the undead so the demon wasn’t using his full power when he attacked. That was going to give her the advantage she needed. Hopefully.
As she gathered herself for another run, Imogen put a hand on her arm. “I think another tactic might be best.”
Marie-Bell raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
Imogen whispered in her ear and a slow smile spread across Marie-Bell’s face.
“It won’t work,” Wind Walker said.
They ignored him and stood side by side. MarieBell dropped her hammer in hopes of gaining an extra step. Imogen raised her hand and Marie-Bell grasped her wrist.
Dreaming in the Dark: Chains of the Fallen Volume 1 (Soul Force Saga Book 4) Page 19