Lily’s shrill voice could be heard shouting above the din of fearful screams. “Not the books! Not the books!”
Markus saw Thomas shrug, and Markus motioned for Thomas to go inside.
“It appears your temple will be a sanctuary tonight, Patriarch Markus,” Fulbert said.
“You can dispense with the title, Fulbert,” Markus yelled back over the screams of the crowd. “I’m simply Markus this night.”
“Commander, there!” one of the soldiers yelled, pointing into the gloom across the field to the south of the temple.
Markus strained to look, trying to see what the commander’s man was yelling about.
Soon he didn’t have to strain at all. Dozens of dead bodies, most no more than animated skeletons, shambled out of the gloom and into the pale light of the temple gate’s torches that illuminated the road and area near the front walls of the temple complex. They cut off the road from town, and Markus heard new screams coming from the road, no longer screams of fear but now screams of pain and death.
Qui Amatha destroyed yet another building, landing on it and literally rolling through it, as her broad spine cracked wood and stone alike.
She took a moment to look around at the destruction she had wrought. Sivern was leading several groups of her minions into town. Most from the west, but one contingent flanked around from the south and was attacking the east part of town, cutting off the escape of the puny humans.
The large black dragon spread her wings and let loose, flapping frantically to gain altitude and clear the debris of the building she had just demolished. The effect was to fan the fires that had begun all around her and to scatter bits and pieces of wood, furniture, clothes, papers, and ashes.
The resistance had been quick and short—few archers feebly throwing their little sticks at her tough, scaly hide and a couple of brave but insignificant foot soldiers trying to stab her with their long blades. Neither was effective, and she had dispatched them quickly. Perhaps she had destroyed her resistance too quickly, as the town center seemed to desert faster than she had remembered from her days of yore, taking much of the pleasure from her.
She had a plan, however, and it was not yet complete. Sivern had informed her of where the humans buried their dead in elaborate crypts and graves, just south of the town center along the east-west main road. She flew high above and circled twice to enjoy her handiwork, before gliding south to the center of the many small stone markers that passed for human remembrance in this land.
She landed on top of an ornate mausoleum, crushing it and creating a small dust cloud that obscured her vision momentarily. Soon, however, the dust settled, and she saw Sivern flying towards her from the north, flapping his wings quickly to slow his own descent and landing next to his mistress.
“Report,” was all that Qui Amatha had to say, though she knew the news would be pleasing to her.
“Fortune shines upon the Black Lady of Death tonight. The human settlement was caught unprepared, and only a few pockets of resistance dare to stand against you and yours,” he said politely, even for a drone.
“And my children, how do they fare tonight?” Qui Amatha asked, referring to her undead army.
“Many losses, as your poor offspring are slower than the humans, but they press the fight and have surrounded the entire area. None will escape, my lady.”
“Good,” Qui Amatha said, as a long length of black ooze fell from her mouth onto one of the large stone markers and instantly started to dissolve it. “I feel strength in me yet, drone. I will raise one more special army against the defiant humans to break their resolve. Lead them and finish them off. When I am done, I will return to my abode to rest. See to it that there are no survivors left to defy us.”
“Yes, my lady, as you command,” Sivern said, looking around in anticipation.
Qui Amatha closed her eyes, focused on the eternal dark energy streaming around her unseen, and started to channel it into the ground at her feet. After several long moments she was rewarded with movement. First a single hand thrust from the ground below, and then quickly this was followed by many hands and bodies that had fought their way to the surface. Mausoleum doors were flung open, and the corpses of the past inhabitants of Tannis emerged to wage war with their descendants.
Sivern shivered with joy.
Chapter 12
Hand of Astor
The day had gone uneventfully for Olivia, and Felix eventually took her to his camp on the outskirts of town, several miles to the east, not far from the east-west road. He didn’t agree with her at first and said that it would be best for her to discuss the issue with her father, but Olivia was afraid that would place him in danger.
She learned from Felix that he was asked by one of the scouts to keep an eye on her and that the scout himself was secretly working for the order. She already knew that Commander Fulbert was tasked directly by her father to ensure her safety, and he did as good of a job as he could have under the circumstances. He eventually brought her to the Temple of Astor, which seemed like the most logical place to take a Hand of Astor who was injured and who, according to Felix, appeared to perform miracles for those less fortunate.
Olivia told Felix that anything she had done was done by Astor’s will, and Felix just laughed and said, “Spoken like a true believer.”
Olivia decided that she needed to confront Markus at some point, and perhaps send word to her father first that she was alive and well. She couldn’t decide on the circumstances of her decision, and whether it would be wise for a newly initiated Hand of Astor to openly suspect the order’s chief patriarch of Tannis. Perhaps she was wondering if she needed to go to the Supreme Patriarch himself for guidance, bypassing Patriarch Markus altogether?
She hadn’t gotten very far in her decision making when they had retired for the night. She awoke at the same time that Felix did, waking to a faint sound in the distance. She could not understand it, but she felt dread come over her.
“Do you feel that, Felix?” she asked, standing and grabbing her light blanket to wrap around her shoulders. The small fire that Felix had prepared the day before had gone out, and they were under a canopy of trees, so there was scant star light and no moonlight, as the twin sisters had already set for the night.
Felix grabbed his sword, placed it in its sheath, and then grabbed his water flask and his smaller pack. “I heard something, yes,” he said.
“No, Felix, not heard—felt?” Olivia asked, emphasizing the last word.
Felix looked at her in the dark, and she imagined he had shrugged his shoulders, though it was hard to tell. “Something sounds not right, and the noises are coming from town. I will return there to investigate, and you should stay here. You will be protected while you reside in this camp.”
Olivia looked around, but saw nothing. “More of you rangers here about, Felix, or do you have a large furry friend nearby?” she asked.
“Neither,” he answered. “This forest is older than the sea surrounding us. One of the Arnen is not far away, and although he will not reveal himself, he protects all innocents within the forest, whether man or beast. You can rest assured tonight that neither you nor animal will come to harm as long as you stay within these trees.”
“No, Felix,” Olivia said, dropping her blanket and bending to pick up her own weapon and pack. “I will accompany you to town. I believe you when you vouch for my safety here, but my father and my friends are in Tannis. I have an intense feeling of dread, as if a black cloud of misery and despair has descended upon me, and I fear for them. If there is something amiss, I want to help. Perhaps I was too hasty in my decision to leave, and I should have returned to my house and father.”
“Perhaps you are right, but after seeing you so near to death, with that vile beast’s poison coursing through your body, I have feared for your well-being every day since our return. Well, let us go together, then.”
Soon the two started off, leaving most of Felix’s belongings at the camp. Olivia was car
rying a very small pack that he had given her when they arrived, as well as a small water flask filled from a nearby stream.
“Tell me more about this ‘Arnen’ that you spoke of,” Olivia asked as they walked through the forest westward towards town.
“What would you like to know?” Felix answered.
“Is he like one of those pagan druids my master talked about?”
“Pagan?” Felix asked, looking sideways at her.
“Well, perhaps a poor choice of words, but the order doesn’t think much of the druids that hide in the forests. I have never met one. What are they like?” Olivia asked.
Felix looked back down at the ground and altered his course slightly to arrive more quickly on the east-west road. “Well, what can I say? They protect life and all that Agon holds dear.”
“That is who we worship as well,” Olivia said, as she too altered course to walk beside the ranger. “Astor is the handmaiden of Agon; we serve her and she serves Agon. Wouldn’t you say that makes us equals with regards to our ultimate service?”
“Perhaps,” Felix said, picking his way over some unseen roots sticking from the ground. “Watch your step here. As I was saying, the Arnen are ancient. They too have their own order, and while we understand that the Order of Astor primarily seeks to do good, your order has become too politicized, which is not surprising, considering the fact that you reside in large cities. Arnen work alone. They come together only for councils, and very rarely will they do that in the life of a man.”
“What about your order?” Olivia asked.
Felix chuckled. “I have neither an order nor a master. I serve because I choose to do so. The Arnen bestow a great boon to those of us who serve, but we do so voluntarily and not for any reason such as gold, fame, or political power. The same cannot be said for many of Agon’s religions.”
“You said you serve, but whom do you serve?” she asked.
“I serve Agon and Agon is nature,” Felix answered simply.
Olivia thought about this and asked no more, and apparently Felix was content enough to not offer any more information about his service. They quickly arrived at the road, and Felix asked if she felt well enough to trot a ways. Olivia agreed and found herself running next to Felix at a comfortable pace, covering the ground rather quickly.
Soon they exited the forest, and the road weaved across a small stream over a small stone bridge that she remembered crossing earlier that day. Well, the day before, she guessed, as it was still night, but dawn would soon be approaching—within the hour, if she was reckoning her time correctly.
She gasped as she saw flames burning off in the distance. Tannis was on fire, and she started to run faster. Felix said not a word and kept pace with her right up till the time they arrived at the first house, just off the road. There were no lights inside, but a dog started to bark, and even in the dim starlight she saw a curtain move as someone peeked out the window.
“We should proceed cautiously, Hand of Astor,” Felix said formally to her.
“There, I saw someone in that house. We should ask them what is happening.”
“I don’t think they would open the door, but we can try,” Felix said.
Olivia noticed the curtain close just as quickly, and the door opened a crack, enough for the dog to enter the house from the front yard. Then she heard the door slam shut and the lock bar being thrown on the other side. Felix was correct. There would be no help from any of her townspeople in this matter. She would have to find out for herself what was happening.
“Let’s go,” she finally said to Felix, as she drew her sword with one hand and pulled out her pendant from under her chain mail with the other, starting off westward at a cautious walk.
Felix followed her, and they traveled some distance, with the fires getting larger. They passed more and more houses before they heard suddenly shouts and screams in the near distance.
“There!” Felix motioned. “Do you see the temple in the distance?” he asked.
“Yes, I see it. What is happening there? I see something.”
Felix looked with his sharp vision and squinted once before turning to answer. “Looks like people running along the road around the entrance to the temple. Shall we investigate?”
“Yes, let’s see what is happening, though I don’t fancy coming face-to-face right now with my master. It would be most awkward,” Olivia said as they started off again towards the town edge, where the temple was located.
The sounds of screaming and yelling were replaced with the sound of steel clanging against steel, and men could be heard yelling orders. Then she saw them—dozens of the foul dead creatures milling around the entrance to her temple as a group of Commander Fulbert’s men were fighting them and trying to break out. That didn’t make sense to her, but she didn’t care. She ran towards them.
“Be careful, Olivia!” Felix shouted, running beside her as they both engaged the closest of the undead. The undead had their backs turned to them, but, as if sensing the living, they turned at the last minute to find themselves beset by the two Ulathans.
Olivia took her sword and simply split the first skeleton in two, but the next one was more of a corpse, and she stabbed at it to little effect.
Felix lopped the skulls off of a couple more as well and kicked a third one back while he ran to the outer wall of the temple and grabbed a lit torch that was attached to a stanchion. He then started to swing both sword and torch in a wide arc, keeping the creatures at bay from Olivia’s flank.
The men at the gate saw the two and gave a hopeful shout. “The Hand of Astor!” one shouted.
“The Lady Olivia has returned to us!” cried another.
The visual appearance of the two raised the morale of the men fighting, and suddenly she realized why. They weren’t trying to escape, but rather on the far side a small group of soldiers from town and many townspeople were trying to make the gate and were cut off. The group at the gate was trying to rally to them and allow them to enter the temple grounds.
Several more men and a couple of temple servants sallied from the temple gates and engaged the undead creatures. Olivia was shocked to see several of them fall, either dead or wounded, and more shouts of fear and pain were heard.
Olivia felt her pendant grow hot, and a calm came over her once again as it had in the swamp days before. Fear not, child, for the power of Astor is with you. Olivia sheathed her sword and grabbed her pendant in her left hand, holding it out as far as the necklace chain would allow; she placed her right hand palm out towards the undead creatures.
“Olivia! What are you doing?” Felix shouted, hacking a bony arm that held a rusted sword thrust by a creature that tried to strike her.
Olivia turned to Felix and smiled at him peacefully. She saw the ranger wielding fire and steel and the many foul beasts that either fell before his wrath or were pushed back by the flames of the torch, but she also saw many flanking around him, ready for the kill.
“Alanon le Algorath!” she said in an unfamiliar language, and suddenly through her very fist a bright light pierced the darkness. The light started brightly at first, but continued to grow until her entire left hand became a pure ball of white energy, and then with her right hand a beam of light shot out and struck several of the creatures in front of her that blocked the road.
The creatures simply morphed into a pile of ash, a dozen at least, as they had bunched up in front of her, trying to kill the Priestess of Astor. Olivia turned, pointed her right hand at four undead that had flanked Felix, and moved her hand from left to right, allowing the beam to cross them and turning them also into ash.
Shouts and screams of hope came from the temple and the road as she turned a third time towards the field across from the temple. Over a score of the foul creatures were caught in her beam of light and turned to ash yet again. The rest farther back started to retreat, covering their eye sockets or shielding eyeless holes against the offending light.
The soldiers across the road pu
shed forward, hacking at the creatures, who seemed dazed and confused at the spectacle that was Olivia. Another dozen creatures fell as they tried to move away from her and stumbled instead into hacking swords or smashing maces wielded by the desperate townspeople and men of the watch.
“Rally!” a familiar voice shouted from the temple gate. “To the priestess!” she heard Commander Fulbert yell as the last remaining troops under his command poured out and cleared the street and surrounding area of the last of the creatures.
Commander Fulbert managed to hack one down before arriving in front of Olivia. “Hand Olivia!” he exclaimed, looking at her in awe. “You’re alive and well!”
Several of the servants shouted happily at the sight of her as she looked around. The light in her hand slowly diminished until they were standing back in dim starlight and weak torchlight from the walled torches sitting upon their stanchions along the temple wall. Then she saw her master, Markus, at the gate. He looked pale and gave the sign of warding, and then retreated into the temple without saying a word.
Several of the guards stood around her and a few even knelt before her. Those who knelt were from the original expedition. “Rise, all of you!” Olivia commanded. “Kneel not to me, but only before the Altar of the Mother.”
Everyone stood, and finally one lady servant pushed her way forward. “Hand of Astor, Olivia! Please, we have wounded—will you not heal them?”
“Let the priestess recover, woman!” the commander said.
The Black Dragon: A Claire-Agon Dragon Book (Dragon Series 1) Page 14