They watched from behind the ice mold as Eadon strode into the room, lifted each hand slowly, and then shoved his palms out before him. From his hands blasted a shock wave of energy out into the small, enclosed room. The blast shattered the ice that held the two and traveled on to utterly destroy the wall behind them.
They were thrown from the room as Eadon’s blast only grew in intensity. Over the ledge they flew as rubble and debris bit into both skin and scale. Avriel was caught by her chains and dangled by her hind legs, her wings outstretching as she attempted to right herself. Whill barely had time to grab onto one of her clawed feet as he fell past. He swung up on it and caught a good hold with both hands. He looked down at the sloping roofs and the five-story drop to the courtyard.
Whill heard, but did not see, Eadon at the ledge; as he slashed his sword down and cut Avriel’s chains. Avriel instantly brought up Whill into her grasp and turned. Extending her wings, she kicked off from the tower and began to glide. She was unbalanced and a fledgling, but she glided.
She attempted to fly out of the courtyard, but her tail was entangled in chains, and she needed to land. But what was the point in that—she would only be beaten and reprimanded by Eadon. No, this was her chance to rescue them both. If only she could clear the wall, and the one beyond, and fly free across the green forests to the forest city of Cerushia.
Avriel felt the tension as Eadon caused the chains that dangled from her ankles to wrap themselves around her legs and wings and squeeze. She curled Whill up tight and rolled across a rooftop, only to be pitched off to fall a hundred feet to the courtyard below.
If she had been falling straight, she would have come out worse, but as it was, the pitch of the roof caused her chained form to roll for many feet before crashing into a supply wagon.
“Do you pledge your fealty to me?!” Eadon bellowed from the tower as he leapt off, extended his arms, and turned into a man-sized crow. The crow circled the bloodied and tangled pair and soon swept down almost to the ground. The legs of an Elf touched down, and Eadon returned to his Elf form.
The driver of the supply wagon trembled at what he had seen and could not withstand Eadon’s glare; he simply withered down to a dust pile. Eadon spread his hands, and the chains that held Avriel exploded from her. She gently opened her wings to reveal an unhurt Whill. He stood in the shadow of the wing and walked out onto the wreckage. He turned his back on Eadon and looked into the white dragon’s eyes. She looked at him but did not see him; her mind saw only what her soul felt, a presence, faint, ever-so faint, but familiar. Whill then felt it too; together, their minds spoke, Zerafin.
They had been projecting, intensely, and Eadon overheard their minds’ words.
“Yes, do you feel him?” he asked. Then he bellowed. “Zerafin! Oh, great warrior of the dying Elves! Come and face me, so that you and your sister shall die together!”
Eadon grinned and turned on Whill and Avriel. From his hands flew gnashing, twisting, biting, and hissing snakes of living lightning. They bit into Avriel’s scales and jolted her stiffly upon her side. She let out a roar of tortured pain that Whill had never heard from a creature.
Eadon smiled all the more and sent an excruciating pulse of the lightning at the white dragon.
Chapter 20
Convergeance of Power
Two miles away, Zerafin cocked his head to the sound. Even Abram and Rhunis stopped in their loading of the bottles of dragons’ breath and listened to the unnaturally loud voice of Eadon as he made his challenge. Indeed, every soul within the city proper heard the words. Abram knew the look on his Elf friend’s face, though it was usually seen upon a certain gruff Dwarf. He searched for the words and said, “Zerafin, should you do this?”
Abram saw Zerafin’s answer in his burning eyes and felt an energy surge course through the Elf. It bit at his hand and made it numb. Even through the pain, he held contact with the Elf. “Do not do this; we must stick to the plan,” he begged.
Zerafin gently removed Abram’s hand and shot up and out of the hole in the ceiling.
***
Whill watched helplessly as Eadon shocked Avriel. But then into the night shot a white flame. It stopped and shone brightly before shooting straight at them. Zerafin’s blade was like a comet as it slammed into Eadon’s protective energy shield. To Whill’s astonishment, there was a clang of swords as Eadon found it necessary to block. Zerafin charged forth, unleashing a devastating array of attacks, feints, and counterattacks that had Eadon backing away. Finally, the Dark Elf shot forth a blinding array of dark energy at Zerafin, which Zerafin countered with a parry of the blade and an outstretched hand to the sky. Zerafin parted the clouds above as his power shot forth and rained down pure light from the heavens.
Clouds parted and the heavens thundered as Zerafin brought the whole of the power of the sun down upon his dark opponent. All in the courtyard were temporarily blinded by the beam of light. Eadon screamed in anguish as the sun burned through his many wards and his fine armor, biting his flesh. Zerafin then unleashed a shock wave that moved the very earth. It hit the Dark Elf and sent him crashing through the base of a tower.
He turned to his sister. “Fly now!”
Avriel, the white dragon, did not move from her spot. Instead, she roared in defiance. She would not leave without him.
Zerafin growled and swore under his breath and sent a fireball into the rubble.
Dozens of Uthen-Arden soldiers came running into the courtyard, swords drawn. Whill noticed also that three Dark Elves had come to see what the disturbance was, or rather, they were beckoned by Eadon.
Eadon strode out of the flames unharmed and eyed Zerafin with a grin. He turned to his Dark Elves. “Take Whill to his chambers. I will deal with the siblings.”
The words barely left his lips before Zerafin slammed his sword into the ground. The shock wave spread out and knocked the standing human soldiers from their feet. As he retracted his sword, the ground began to bulge and ripple. From the ground rose an earth elemental, made of dirt and stone. Once erect, it stood more than one hundred feet.
“Protect the human and the dragon!” Zerafin bade the elemental and, in a flash, engaged Eadon.
Their swords met with a thunderous explosion as they battled. The human guards did not know what to think. Many scattered for safety at the appearance of the earth elemental. Those brave enough to attempt to attack it were quickly destroyed. Volleys of spells bombarded the creature as the Dark Elves moved to gather up Whill. The elemental put itself between Whill and Avriel and the Dark Elves as the many spells slammed into it, sending huge chunks of earth falling from its wounds. The elemental roared and swatted at the incoming spells. With a huge earthen foot, it kicked aside a Dark Elf that got too close; the blow sent it flying into the castle wall with a thud.
Zerafin and Eadon exchanged blows, each more powerful than the next as they tested the extent of each other’s powerful weapons. Whill watched on helplessly and turned to Avriel. “We must fly while we can. Come now, lest your brother’s rescue be in vain.”
Avriel snorted smoke from her nose and reluctantly turned from Zerafin and Eadon’s battle. She lowered a shoulder, and Whill scrambled up onto her neck. She leapt off the ground but was hit by a fireball from one of the Dark Elves battling the elemental. The gigantic elemental slammed its foot down on the distracted Dark Elf, burying it deeply. Avriel landed hard and roared with pain.
The elemental then took a swipe at Eadon as he leapt up and over Zerafin. The being’s hand hit the Dark Elf but simply disintegrated on impact. Eadon landed and slashed at Zerafin’s back, his sword moving in a blur. The blade hit Zerafin’s energy shield and disintegrated it in a shower of sparks. Blood flew as Zerafin was cut across the back. Blue tendrils of healing energy were already surrounding the wound as Zerafin fell back and turned. From his left hand, he let loose a shock wave of energy that blasted Eadon and sent the Dark Elf flying.
The elemental roared and stomped upon yet another Dark Elf
. The Elf was buried deeply but was not killed. His energy shield took the brunt of the blow, and the ground below the earth elemental shook and erupted as the Dark Elf blasted up through the earth, shooting through the foot and leg of the elemental and out of its knee. Earth and stone fell away, and the elemental fell, having had its leg destroyed. It hit with a resounding boom atop many of the stunned Uthen-Arden soldiers.
The Dark Elves ignored the downed elemental as the dirt gathered once again to reform the destroyed leg. Avriel put Whill behind herself and turned to the Dark Elves and bathed them in her white-hot dragon breath. The flames shot forth and were deflected harmlessly.
Whill was tired of being helpless, and with all his will and strength of mind, he outstretched his hand and summoned to him one of the blades of the fallen human soldiers.
“Avriel. Remember how you lent Zerafin’s blade your power upon the ship Celestra?”
“Yes,” she hummed.
Whill held his sword high as the dragon, Avriel, bathed it in fire. The flames shot forth in a thin line and were utterly consumed, heat and licking flame alike, by Whill’s sword.
Whill smiled widely as he felt the distilled power of the dragons’ breath hum within the blade, beckoning to be released. He ran three short steps and jumped up and leaped higher still from Avriel’s dragon knee. Twenty feet he soared, and he came down with a howl and cocked sword upon the lead Dark Elf. Before he landed, Whill looked upon the Elf’s tattooed face; it was that of his torturer, Velkarell. Rather than being filled with fear upon seeing one that had hurt him so, Whill was enraged. And when he fell upon the Dark Elf of his nightmares, Whill put into that blow all of the anger, fear, pain, and sorrow that Velkarell had caused.
Whill’s leap was watched by all within the courtyard. Time froze, and all that existed was the wild-eyed, crazy man flying through the air. All watched as his blade turned white hot and flames leapt forth hungrily.
There was a blinding flash as Whill descended upon the Dark Elf torturer with a scream of defiance, and the courtyard was bathed in shadow. The Dark Elf put up his blade to block and expended huge amounts of stored power upon his shield, yet Whill’s blade cut through all defenses. The sword cut through the Dark Elf’s chin, chest, gut, and groin, leaving the injured Elf to simply gawk in astonishment and horror. Whill landed upon a foot and one knee and instantly drove his blade into the Dark Elf’s neck and out his skull. The blade then erupted in white-hot flame that engulfed Velkarell but did not touch Whill.
The Dark Elf fell in a pile of ash; only his inner gems remained. These Whill picked up and took up within his fist. His back arched and his body jolted as he took from the gems all of the stored power within them. His sword glowed with the addition of energy, and Whill turned to the next Dark Elf with a grin.
Whill engaged another Dark Elf as Zerafin screamed to his sister and bade her once more. “Fly now!”
This time she did, knowing that there would be no victory here. She flew swiftly, and she flew high as below her, her brother’s powerful sword met Eadon’s.
Whill smiled to himself as he watched Avriel fly away and over the walls of the courtyard. He engaged the Dark Elf before him, his borrowed sword aflame once more. This Dark Elf, however, did not count on a parry to save him. He had seen Whill’s power, and he knew to be wary. The Dark Elf raised a hand, and Whill was lifted off the ground. He put up a shield with his mind, and that shield hummed with the energy of the blade. But the seasoned and practiced Dark Elf dove into it and unwove the energy shield in an instant. From Whill’s grasp, he took the flaming sword, and the flames went out as he absorbed the energy within. Whill screamed in defiance as the Elf grinned in victory.
Zerafin could not at the moment lend Whill any energy as he used the majority of his blade’s energy to battle Eadon. They both had expended massive amounts of power in the fight, and Zerafin knew that Eadon was angered to be depleted so. But he also knew, as did Eadon, that Zerafin would lose this contest.
Zerafin felt his sister’s energy and grinned to himself. He heard in his mind a language he had not used since she had been a child. Eadon shot at him a great amount of energy in the form of black tendrils, which surely would have broken through his defenses. Rather than take the blow, Zerafin morphed himself into the earth. Taking the form of his native land’s most beloved plant, the Evervine, he dug deep.
Eadon followed suit and dove into the earth as a plant, one and the same. Like so many fighting worms, they engaged each other’s roots. Eadon entangled them below the surface. Zerafin then emerged as a flowering vine and changed to his Elven form. He caused the ground to turn to stone as he leapt high and landed upon the back of his diving, dragon sister. He sent a blast at the Dark Elf that had beaten Whill, sending him flying, and Avriel grabbed hold of Whill with a claw.
As Eadon angrily broke through the stone and turned to his Elf form, he spotted the escaping dragon. He reached out and with his mind yanked Whill from Avriel’s claw. Whill fell through the air and hit the ground hard. Eadon roared with rage and shot forth a spell at Avriel and Zerafin.
Zerafin knew what was coming; he expected Eadon, in his anger, to send a death spell at his back as he flew away and had ready a counterspell that would inflict Eadon as it would himself. He had no choice. If Eadon wanted to expend the energy to cut through his highly blessed and powerful sword, he would have to unleash a huge amount himself. And Eadon would never guess that rather than raise a massive shield, Zerafin would turn the blow against him, killing them both.
Eadon hollered with rage, and the inevitable spell ripped through the night and hit Zerafin in the back. Zerafin took the hit, and with everything he had, he sent back the spell. Eadon was likewise hit in the chest, his spell having, after all, been molded as to cut through all defenses. As soon as the spell hit, Eadon knew his folly. For even as Zerafin bent in agony against the spell, so too did Eadon. His mind raced as he bent in pain and watched his hand shrivel into uselessness. He laughed to himself at Zerafin’s cleverness as he sent healing energy through his body.
Zerafin, too, watched as his hands curled up into useless husks as his sister flew high and far. Yet he smiled to himself—for he knew that Eadon had likewise been afflicted.
Eadon reeled in tortured agony as his body rotted, and simultaneously, he stopped it through great amount of healing. The Dark Elf that had held Whill released him and forgot him altogether as he gawked at the injured Eadon.
Like a wolf that dreams of one day killing the pack leader and taking the mantle, he walked closer to his bent lord. This was the first time that he had seen his master afflicted so. He licked his lips and brought up his sword to strike down his master. His blade was stopped by another Dark Elf, one more loyal to Eadon.
“You have killed yourself,” said the Dark Elf as Eadon turned and, with his blade, cut in two his attacker. Eadon caught the traitorous Dark Elf by the face as his lower body fell in a bloody heap. Eadon stroked the dying Dark Elf’s face and kissed him. And from his mouth, Eadon took all the power within him. That power he used to fight his affliction, which he would not relent in the use of, for he knew that without help, Zerafin would run out of energy to counter it with. Zerafin would soon die from the crippling spell, and Eadon did not mind making it slow.
“Lord!” said the Dark Elf. “Should I send for them to be killed or taken?”
Eadon laughed as he looked to Whill, defenseless and lying where he had fallen after the Dark Elf had released him.
“Neither, Zerafin will be dead soon, and the dragon cannot be helped. No, let the Elves of the Sun see my power, and let them cower.”
***
Avriel flew her brother to a field many miles from the city, a place where the only eyes were that of the trees; even these Avriel looked at with suspicion. Zerafin fell to the earth and curled in a ball; the sickness with which he had been afflicted was killing him.
Avriel belched fire into the sky at her impotence to help. She could not yet in this form
perform Orna Catorna. She watched helplessly as her brother lay dying.
“Call our brethren!” she begged. But Zerafin already had.
Within minutes, five Elves of the Sun had arrived, and they tended to the dying Zerafin, whom was now unconscious and withering. After a half hour of effort, Azzeal came to the worried dragon Avriel and gave her the news.
“The poison spell will not abate or be cured. Eadon suffers as well but does not end it. We are expending massive amounts of personal energy to keep the cancerous spell from killing your brother. At this rate, we cannot commence to keep Zerafin alive and help Whill this day.”
The Sun Elf bowed his head to his dragon princess. “What will it be?” he asked.
Avriel cursed her dragon tears and roared in frustration. She quickly got a hold of herself and addressed the gathering Elves. “Azzeal and I shall remain behind to aid Whill. The rest of you will expend all efforts to keep my brother alive until he reaches Elladrindellia, where you are released. Let it be known that my brother freed me in his efforts, and my fate since is my own to determine, and the outcome of such shall not fall upon his shoulders.”
The Elves all bowed at their princess and then turned to swiftly take the dying Zerafin home. Avriel turned her back on her brother and focused upon the city.
It was the day of Whill’s execution.
Chapter 21
Refugees
Jarred fell into the flames with a smile upon his face. He chuckled to himself as Roakore fell with the Draggard, hacking at it still.
So this is how I die, thought Jarred.
He closed his eyes and thought of his wife as the flames licked his flesh in hungry, burning anticipation of their meal. But rather than being engulfed in flame, Jarred slammed into cold stone instead.
Whill of Agora: Epic Fantasy Bundle (Books 1-4): (Whill of Agora, A Quest of Kings, A Song of Swords, A Crown of War) (Legends of Agora) Page 56