by Brad Clark
Marik didn’t immediately follow after her because he was watching the confused goblins as they fought one another. Hallendrielle walked back to him and said, “I cast a spell that gives the illusion that there is a wall where the archway is. They are stupid creatures and simple illusions easily affect them, just like the disguise spell cast on your sword. Now let’s get moving as it won’t last long and if they try and touch it, the spell will be broken. But it should give us time to get up the tower without dealing with them snapping at our heals.”
“Let’s go, then,” Marik said, turning towards the stairs that would lead them up to the top of the tower.
***
Using the light of Marik’s sword to guide them up the dark stairwell, they sprinted up the stairs knowing that with each step they got closer to confronting the Deceiver face-to-face. They were both warriors, committed to serving their respective kingdoms and people first. Marik was highly trained as a Karmon Knight, duty and sacrifice pounded into him over his years of service. Although Hallendirelle had not the formal training as Marik, she had experience on her side. She had already faced wars and death many times over. Despite living in peace for many years, fighting for what was right still came easily to her. There was no hesitation in their actions and no thought about life or death. Each knew in their hearts what could happen, but their instincts and training took over to drive them up the steps without fear.
Hallendielle was much quicker, but she didn’t run ahead of Marik. Despite confidence in her abilities, she knew that they needed to fight together to survive. Even though Hallendrielle slowed to make sure he kept close, Marik still struggled to keep up. With each step, he felt like he was wearing a full suit of plate armor. Yet, there was no chance that he was going to slow down, even as his chest felt like it was about ready to explode.
After what seemed hours, but was only a few minutes, Hallendrielle suddenly stopped. Marik had no idea how many times they had circled around the tower or how far from the top they were. But he was grateful for the rest. He dropped to a knee and sucked in deep breaths.
“You are exhausted,” Hallendrielle said. She was hardly breathing at all.
“I’m fine,” Marik replied between gasps.
“If we reach the top and you cannot fight, we will fail.”
“If we get there too late, we will fail, too.”
The tower suddenly shuddered as it was struck by a fireball.
“Hargon fights back,” Marik said. He stood and started back up the stairs.
His pace was much slower as he put one foot in front of the other and forced his legs to climb the stairs. He knew he wasn’t in tip-top condition, as he hadn’t been training for many months, but he was still as strong and fit as any man. It frustrated him to see Hallendirelle easily climb the steps, but the only thing he could do about it was to keep pushing himself up the stairs.
The stairs came to an end in a large open room that covered the entire width of the tower.
They rounded the last bend, which was lit by daylight coming through an opening in the roof. In the center of the room, just below the opening, a short wooden staircase led up to the tower’s roof. Marik did his best to breathe quietly, but it was hard to not loudly suck in air as he recovered from the climb.
As cautiously as they could, they walked through the empty chamber and stood underneath the opening at the base of the staircase.
“I have a little strength left for spells,” Hallendrielle said, looking up into the bright light that was coming through the opening. “I expended most of my energy freeing the dragon. You attack first, and I will do my best to put up shields to defend against the Deceiver. I will be right behind you with my daggers to attack when I can no longer cast spells.”
“Do you think I can kill him with my sword?”
“In this world, he is but flesh and blood, which make him susceptible to weapons of steel. But he is also a very powerful mage so he will have protection.”
“But can I kill him?”
Hallendrielle looked at him and then up through the opening in the roof. “I have never faced a being such as the Deceiver. I do not know.”
Marik drew his sword and put a foot on the first step of the staircase. “Let’s find out,” he said.
As quickly as they could, they raced up the stairs and jumped onto the roof of the tower. The Deceiver stood near the edge of the roof. He held one hand out and tracked Myllia as she dodged and weaved through the sky to avoid the fireballs that were tossed at her. Hargon, sitting on the dragon’s shoulders, tossed his own balls of fire at the Deceiver to keep him occupied. At the same time, he tried to keep the Stone Ogres away from Immerallis.
Just as Marik was about to charge forward, the Deceiver turned and looked at Marik. Without hesitation, a ball of fire appeared in his hands and tossed it directly at Marik.
Marik flinched, turning his shoulders away from the incoming ball of fire. It happened so quickly, there was no chance of him dodging away. He had seen the large balls of fire explode on the ground and in the air. If that was tossed at him, there was no way he was going to survive. He held his breath, waiting for the end to come.
The fire exploded around him, blocked by Hallendrielle’s shield spell. She had followed him up the stairs but had kept low and out of sight. Her face was ashen and expressionless. Marik knew she was reaching too far into her magic and knew that it would not be much longer before there was not more help coming from her.
The Deceiver’s face pinched with anger, and he thrust his hand out towards Marik, and several more balls of fire struck at him. Each dissipated as they struck the shield that protected him. A large flash of light came from high in the sky and struck the tower right next to the Deceiver. The explosion rocked the tower, and the Deceiver was tossed across the ground, tumbling head over heels. The shield protected Marik from the blast, but the tower shook enough for Marik to lose his footing.
For a moment, he thought the tower was going to collapse as the top of the tower seemed to sway back and forth. Unwilling to stand for fear of the swaying in the tower causing him to fall back down, Marik kept his eyes on the Deceiver. With the Deceiver sprawled out on the roof not moving, Marik thought this would be his chance. After two heartbeats, the sway of the tower slowed and he scrambled to his feet. Sprinting forward, he aimed his sword to drive it right through the Deceiver’s back. He had no idea if he could be killed, or even injured, but there could be no harm in trying. If the Deceiver was truly flesh and blood, at least the body that he inhabited should be able to be killed.
Marik did not like to kill. He didn’t know any Karmon Knight who really liked to kill, for their training was in learning how to defend the kingdom. In that defense, if they were called upon to kill, they would. Without hesitation, they would kill. Marik did not even think about whether he should kill, he did what he needed to defend his kingdom. The man who lay on the ground before him, even if unconscious, needed to die. Pulling his sword back behind him, Marik readied his sword for a sure kill. He was going to drive the sword down across the Deceiver’s back as if he were chopping wood. No man could survive such a blow.
With all his might behind his sword strike, he struck down, but then the Deceiver was not there. Unlike before when the Deceiver suddenly disappeared, Marik did not let himself get caught off balance. He was able to pull the sword up short and kept his balance. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement and spun to see the Deceiver reappear.
“You would think that you would learn,” the Deceiver said. “Even if your sword could strike me, you cannot kill me! You have been a real pest, and now I think it is time for you to die. I was too easy on you yesterday, toying with you. But today, I will just kill you.”
Marik smiled. “Maybe I wasn’t trying to kill you.”
A look of curiosity flashed across the Deceiver’s face a moment before he was engulfed in a ball of fire. The explosive force knocked Marik back onto the tower’s roof and sending him tumbling toward
s the edge. He thought for sure that he was going to topple over the edge when he struck something hard and came to a sudden stop. With ears ringing and his head spinning, he knew he should not move, but he picked up his head to look to see what had happened to the Deceiver. In his place was a dark scorch mark where the fireball had struck.
Hallendrielle ran across the roof and helped Marik to his feet. Her eyes were heavy and listless, and she was breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?” She asked, more concerned for Marik than herself.
“Yes,” he replied. “But you don’t look good.”
She lifted a hand, and it was shaking. She shook her head sharply. “I exhausted all that I have. I hope he is gone because I have nothing left in me.”
An explosion from below caught their attention, and they both looked to see Myllia gliding through the sky with Hargon upon her back. Without the Deceiver to protect the Stone Ogres, Hargon had free reign to toss his fireballs at will. Uncharacteristically, the Stone Ogres were running away, no longer willing to fight.
Hallendrielle pointed it out. “Without the Deceiver to control them, they flee. Look, even the ones far away are running out of the city towards the forest.”
“He can’t be dead, can he?”
“Not likely. Without the full power of the Ark of Life, he has limits, and I think we forced him to reach them. He likely teleported away to safety. He knows that his body can be destroyed and that would cause him to have to find his way back into this realm.”
“Could he do that?”
“He came here once. We have to assume he could do it again.”
“What now?”
They looked out upon the city. Not only had the Stone Ogres run away, but the goblins had disappeared, too. Finally taking a moment to breathe, Marik realized how devastated the city was. His heart broke for the deaths of so many of his people.
Myllia circled the tower and then gently landed on the flat roof. She crouched low to allow Hargon to slide off her upper back.
“Hello!” Hargon called out. His eyes blazed with excitement and energy. “That was incredible!”
“Thank you,” Marik said, walking forward to meet him in the center of the tower’s roof. “You came just at the right time.”
“Almost as if it were planned that way!” Hargon winked and smiled. “But what you did to distract the Deceiver, that was pretty brave. Dumb, but brave.”
“You are the Human Mage?” Hallendrielle said, looking the former Taran Emperor up and down.
“In flesh and blood.”
“Where is Queen Elissa?” Marik asked, interrupting Hargon’s response.
“She is fine. Back at Neffenmark Castle.” Hargon took in a sharp breath and shook his head. “We really need to rename it. With Neffenmark dead, there is no reason to keep calling it that.”
Marik looked over at Myllia who sat silently watching them with her one golden eye. “You have a new friend.”
“Yes, sure enough!” Hargon said. “Quite the ride, I must say. Almost as exhilarating as the power of the Web!”
“Can she be trusted?” Marik asked.
“She brought Queen Elissa to safety and left her in the castle even though she knew you had little chance of rescuing her prodigy. Yes, she told me the whole story on the flight here. She can be trusted.”
“But can you be trusted?” Hallendrielle asked with an accusing tone. She tried not to sound that way, but her feelings came out in her tone.
“What does that mean?” Hargon’s face soured.
The voice of Myllia filled on their heads. “She has a history with Human mages that she must overcome. At one time, we were all enemies, fighting against one another. Those days are past. Now, we must come together to fight to defeat the Deceiver.”
“Then he is not dead?” Marik asked.
“Not hardly. He is no longer near us. He used the last of his power to go to his army to the northwest where he will be able to recover. He will continue to increase in power, and the next time we fight him, we must assume he will even be more powerful. If he were ever to attain the full power of the Ark of Life, then he would be unstoppable, but even now he will be very difficult to kill.” Myllia opened her jaws to stretch them and then she stood. “And thank you for freeing Immerallis. What you did was indeed brave.”
“You forced us, so I am not sure thanks are in order,” Marik replied, not hiding the anger in his tone.
“Yes, I did. I felt it was the only way to ensure that you would actually do it.”
“She freed the Queen before the other dragon was freed,” Hargon argued for Myllia.
“I had not planned to, I must admit. When I said that we must all come together to fight against the Deceiver, I meant myself, too. It was your queen that convinced me that your race is worthy to be an ally. I have only one eye because of you, Sir Marik. I thought it would be a reminder of my hatred for your kind, but it has become a reminder that we are all children of the One God and we must work together to defeat the enemy that seeks to destroy our world.”
“With two dragons and my power,” Hargon said. “We will be a formidable army!”
“Do not be so arrogant, Human,” Myllia said. “You have shown yourself to the Deceiver, and now he will be ready for you. The next time we fight him, he will not be so easily distracted, and he will be prepared to attack you. You must be prepared to defend yourself as well as you were able to attack him.”
“Do not worry about me. I’ll be ready for him. More ready next time.” Hargon tapped his side where his spellbook was securely hidden. “I have plenty more spells that I will have ready.”
***
The Deceiver released his firm grasp on the small leather pouch that held the black Ark of Life gem. A thin leather tether held it around his neck, and it bounced unceremoniously against his chest. He knew that without the Ark of Life, the dragons and the Human mage would have overwhelmed him and the great strides that he had made in his war would have been completely wiped out. It made him even more frustrated to know that he had only half of the Ark of Life. With both pieces, he would have a weapon that would make him invincible, and he would be able to swat those dragons like they were flies.
His spell had teleported him across the waters of the Gulf of Taran to the center of his army. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the tower, but he knew when it was time to cut his losses. He needed his most powerful soldiers with his main forces and not hanging back to defend the tower. The Stone Ogres were adequate, but they were too stupid to leave to their own devices. Now that he had broken the connection to them, they had run off into the forests that surrounded the city. He really didn’t care, as they would likely kill any Humans that they came across, but he did lament the fact that he had to leave the city.
Standing before him was the hairy beast, Roddan. Behind him were ten of the dark green creatures that he called Mashers. They all dropped to a knee as he approached. Goblins that were nearby also dropped to a knee.
The Deceiver looked across his army, which seemed to have stalled in their advance.
“I expected the Human city to have fallen,” the Deceiver said.
Roddan looked up, and after a wave of the Deceiver’s hand, he stood. “The Humans are tenacious and there many more than we expected. They fight with weapons that we are not familiar with.”
The Deceiver raised an eyebrow. “Human mages?”
“No. They fight with instruments of war that are very effective against your goblin army. They have machines that toss great balls of tar followed by flaming arrows to light the tar on fire. Their catapults can fire stone from an unimaginable distance. By the time the first ranks approach their army, there is little left.”
The Deceiver’s face turned red, and he stepped right up to Roddan. With controlled anger, he said, “I don’t need excuses. I need results. That city falls tonight, or I spill your blood myself and use it to call forth another general.”
Roddan stood firm, and his voice did
not waver. “No excuses, just explanation.” He turned to look back at the ten super-soldiers that stood behind him. “Tomorrow morning, I shall lead the mashers myself. We will break their lines, and you will have your victory.”
“Do it. I don’t have to tell you the consequences of failure.” Without waiting for a reply, the Deceiver spun on his heels and marched through the sea of goblins, kicking and pushing his way through them.
He was angry. He was angry at himself for letting the dragons get the better of him and also of Roddan, who had not taken the Human city. He was an all-powerful being, and yet the beings of this realm so far had bested him. That needed to change right away.
A tent had been erected for him. There was no one guarding the tent, as there was no need to. Hundreds of thousands of goblins surrounded him, and none of them would even think about going against him. Their intelligence was far too low for such deceit. They only knew how to exist and how to fight. Anything else was beyond them, which made them great war fodder.
Inside the tent was a table full of Human food. As he inhabited a Human body, he also had Human tastes for food. A large pitcher of wine sat on a table. He filled a goblet and drained it quickly. Two more times, he filled and drank his fill. His head spun, and his mood quickly changed. No longer was he angry. He sat on one of the plush chairs that had been brought in for him.
Once the large Human city had been destroyed and their army decimated, he would not have to worry about attack from behind. He would then send his entire army back east back to where he suspected the other half of the Ark of Life was located. By then, the shapeshifter Marila would have found it and maybe even stolen it for him. With the Ark of Life fully in his possession and the largest Human army gone, there would be nothing left to stop him from gaining complete control of this world.
Chapter Twenty-One
Conner awoke to a gray dreariness. He was sitting on a hard stone floor, leaning up against a cold, stone wall. He tried to get up, but metal shackles around his ankles and wrists prevented him from moving too much. He lifted his hands to look at the metal bands that encircled his wrists. A heavy chain connected each shackle and also went through an eyelet in the floor between his legs. He could lift one arm up above his head, but the other one was then pulled down to his lap. Then he tried to pull both arms up, and the chain prevented them from lifting his arms above his shoulders. His legs were shackled together with a short length of chain. Even if he were somehow able to get his hands free, the short chain would keep him from being able to run, much less walk away.