by Eric Vall
“It wasn’t dark magic, not exactly, it was closer to demonic power,” he reported, and the muscles in his jaw twitched as he clenched his fists. “It drained all of us of our power and vitality, as if we were nothing more than sickly infants. As such, we were obviously no match against the skeletons he’d summoned to fight us.”
“If it drained all of you, that power had to go somewhere,” I remarked as I glanced back over the infirmary. It made sense, but at the same time it didn’t. “I mean, all of that power can’t just disappear.”
“Oh, it didn’t disappear,” Ruslan replied darkly. “It just went back into him so he could use it against us. Otherwise, he never would have defeated all of us. But the more we kept throwing at him, the stronger he got, and the weaker we became. Everything was rigged against us from the start.”
“This is treason, punishable by imprisonment and death.” Nike’s silver eyes nearly darkened to an intense black from the depths of his rage. “The use of demonic magic is outlawed throughout all of Rahma and the other nations in our alliance. To use it is to betray all of humanity.”
“Considering what we found at the castle,” I added, “this isn’t looking so good for Aleksey. Asshole is about to get fucked up.”
“What castle?” Ruslan frowned, and he seemed more than a little confused at my words. “Did something happen, and I just missed it?”
I took a moment to think. With all of the events of the past few days, I wasn’t sure if I’d filled my father in on finding the enemy’s castle. Actually, now that I thought about it, I was sure I didn’t. I went straight from finding out the castle even existed to meeting up with Valerra and then straight to attacking the compound.
“Well, turns out the Green Glass Sect had a base nearby,” I launched into a quick explanation. “It was a castle in the mountains, and it was there for at least a thousand years.”
“Was?” Pyotr questioned with a quirk of his eyebrows.
“We destroyed it.” I smirked back viciously. “A little housewarming present for our enemies. They won’t be bothering us for a while since their base is gone.”
This wasn’t the time to mention the corpses of all the children we’d found, I’d leave that for after we came back with the missing orichalcum and the traitor. There’d been enough lost today.
“I wouldn’t have expected anything less,” Ruslan laughed as he relaxed in the bed.
“Now that we’ve settled that,” I switched the topic back to the matter at hand, “does anyone know in which direction Aleksey escaped to? He couldn’t have gotten far, but that’s a loose end we need to tie up. We can’t let the orichalcum fall out of our hands, and I’d hate for demons to get their claws on it.”
Matching shudders went through everyone who heard me, and a quick look of terror flashed through Pyotr’s eyes as he shook his head. The background noise in the infirmary grew quieter, as if all the wounded were listening in on our conversation. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.
“He took off to the west, I don’t know why.” Pyotr frowned, and his ears twitched. “It doesn’t make any sense to go through the desert like that, even if he was trying to lose us. Going through the desert is too dangerous, and he’s risking losing not only his life, but his spoils. Even the average cultivator and trained warrior would have a difficult time crossing it without any supplies. Who knows what demonic power he’ll use to cross it, though? If we’re lucky, the desert creatures will take care of him for us.”
“To the west?” My mind froze for a moment. “Have Alyona and Laika come back from the aqueducts?”
“No.” Pyotr frowned before his face paled. “We haven’t heard any news from them since before Aleksey stole the weapons and armor.”
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath as I stood up. “Nike, come with me.”
“You’re going after them?” Ruslan glanced up at me. “Well, if it’s the two of you, I’m sure he won’t be able to escape. But what are you going to do about that power he used on us?”
I didn’t really know what I was going to do about that, but I knew whoever struck first was going to win. So, that was exactly what I was going to do. I wasn’t going to give him even a single opening.
“I promise you, Pops,” I said with a cocky salute in his direction, “he’s never going to see us coming.”
“You can rest easy,” Nike added as he moved toward me, “Aleksey will pay for his crimes, and Hatra will have justice. I vow this on my honor as a Noble of the Sword. He will not escape.”
I slipped out of the infirmary before anyone could stop us, and I sensed Nike follow me quietly. He’d just sworn a rather heavy oath, and I was impressed by the depth of his dedication to Hatra.
My instincts kept telling me I could trust Nike unconditionally, and I wondered if it was because of our duel the moment we’d met. Or, perhaps, it was because he was a fellow Noble of the Sword. Alyona had told me once that all the Nobles of the Sword were bonded together by their duty to protect Rahma and humanity.
If it was because of some unknown power or because we got along like we were cut from the same cloth, I didn’t care. At the moment, I was glad to have him with me.
“Nike, where do you think all those harpy children came from?” I asked once we were out of earshot of the infirmary and there was enough space for me to change forms. “I don’t think there would be enough harpies in the mountains for them to have come from just there, it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Skaa is the kingdom of harpies,” Nike began slowly, “but even so, it would be difficult to imagine so many would have gone missing without anyone noticing. But somehow that’s exactly what has happened.”
“Maybe the Green Glass Sect is involved with merchants,” I proposed as I changed from my human body into my draconic form. “They’d be able to cross the country borders easily that way.”
“My,” Nike murmured, and excitement gleamed in his silver eyes as they trailed over my scales. “We’d known you were a dragon before we made it to the city, but I must say, this alternate form of yours is rather impressive. Granted, I’ve never seen a dragon up close, but if I were our enemies, I’d be intimidated.”
“This is my true form. I was once a human, but now I am a dragon that just wears a human form when it’s convenient.”
“You’ll have to explain to me how that works sometime soon,” he chuckled. “It sounds amazing.”
I flashed him a fanged grin. “It is a pretty awesome perk. Now, hop on. We don’t have any time to waste.”
I could see Nike was almost vibrating with boyish curiosity, but he forced it down as he took in a breath.
“My apologies,” Nike said and took a step toward me. “What you said about the merchants would make sense, though. They could hide the children within cargo or even disguised as slaves for the foreign countries who still participate in that practice.”
“There could be a paper trail left for us to find if we dig deep enough,” I added as I scowled at the ground. “Nike, what are you waiting for? Just jump on, we can figure this out after we have Aleksey.”
“Ah, you’re right.” Nike shook his head and leaped onto my back in a swift movement. “I got distracted thinking about the demonic power Pyotr mentioned Aleksey had used against them. Their power went straight to Aleksey, but I think I found a flaw in that ability.”
“Oh yeah?” I launched myself into the sky and flew over the buildings of Hatra. “How about you share that theory?”
“It’s simple if you think about it,” Nike called out, and his voice carried easily to me. “There’s only so much power Aleksey will be able to contain before his body cracks under the pressure. If you aren’t prepared to handle a wave of power, it’ll come crashing down on you.”
“Like what happened to me when we were at the walls with the architects!” I grew excited as I followed his train of thought perfectly. “If we overload him with power, he’ll shut down and won’t be able to fight back.”
“E
xactly.” Nike’s grin could almost be heard in his voice. “Even if he isn’t struggling with the amount of power he’s absorbed so far, once we hit him with our strongest attacks, it’ll be over for him. Aleksey is strong, there’s no mistake about that. Even so, he can’t hold a candle to a Noble of the Sword, let alone two.”
“So, a bit of revenge before we even interrogate him?” I couldn’t help but snicker as I flew over the walls of Hatra. “He’s definitely bitten off more than he can chew.”
The crystalline waters of the river came to view just as soon as I passed over the bluestone walls of Hatra, and the immense aqueduct system appeared quickly after. It was already late afternoon, and the air had begun to grow cooler. The change was more evident the moment we left the city because of how close we were getting to the river.
Hopefully, Alyona and the others would be perfectly fine. They were probably at the end of the aqueducts by now or should have already been on their way back if nothing had happened.
“Evan, there’s fighting in the distance!” Nike called out to me just as we passed one of the bends in the river.
“That fucker!” I growled out since there was only one reason they would be under attack.
I could see the Blue Tree Guild warriors fighting in a circle around Alyona. They were defending her from what looked liked mummified skeletons that were disgustingly similar to the demonized harpies we’d fought back at the mountain castle.
“Just how many of those creatures are there?” Disbelief colored Nike’s voice as he unsheathed his sword. “It’s like they have a never-ending army prepared to fight us at every turn.”
“Why hasn’t Alyona moved to join the fight?” I was confused as I realized my princess was still amidst the battling warriors. “Her power should be able to get rid of those skeletons quickly.”
Alyona was kneeling in the very center of the circle, and her hands were clasped in front of her. A faint glow emanated from her body and, even from this distance, I could see beads of sweat drip down her forehead.
“She’s still enchanting the aqueducts,” Nike groaned out. “She won’t be able to stop until the enchantments are finished.”
“Fucking hell,” I snarled. “It’s always the timing of everything we try to do. It’s like these fuckers know exactly when we can’t fight back at maximum strength.”
I flew faster toward the fight. Aleksey would have to wait. I needed to save my people. And my princess.
Just as I closed in on the battle, a wave of skeletons went crashing into the desert sands, crushed to dust by the strength behind Laika’s broadsword. My shadow fell over Laika, and when she glanced up at me, her beautiful face was covered in dust and ash.
“Evan!” she cried out, and relief was clear in her eyes. “Thank the gods you and Lord Nikolaus are here.”
“What happened, was it Aleksey?” I set down near Laika and lashed out at some advancing skeletons with my tail.
“How did you know?” Laika asked as she rested against my foreleg for a moment and closed her eyes.
“He betrayed us all,” Nike explained as he jumped down from my back and pulled out his Sword. “He stole the orichalcum weapons and attacked the people of Hatra. Aleksey even attacked his sworn comrades from the city of Leyte. He has turned his back on all of humanity.”
“What?” Laika’s eyes snapped open as she glanced between us.
“It’s true,” I confirmed grimly as I scanned the approaching skeletal monsters. “He drained everyone of their power back in the city, even my parents were left weakened by his treason.”
I glanced over at the two tight rings of warriors surrounding Alyona as she poured her power into the aqueducts. The first ring of warriors kept a majority of the skeletal creatures at bay, and the second ring cut off any stragglers from reaching her. It was obvious to anyone watching that the monsters were aiming for Alyona.
Nike looked over at me, and I nodded. We were going to cut this attack down before anything happened to our comrades or my women.
I dove into the horde of skeletal warriors and thrashed about, breaking them into pieces even as I poured my healing power into my allies. Next to me, Nike slashed at the skeleton creatures with his Sword and turned them to ashes.
Laika joined in with a savage yell. She cut through the advance of the creatures and broke their joints with her massive sword.
Part of my draconic instincts wanted to snatch up my two lovers and fly them away from here and out of harm’s way. But I knew Laika could handle herself, and I knew every last guild warrior would lay down their lives before they let anything befall the princess.
So, my job was to wipe out these monsters, and I took to it with relish.
I could have switched back into my human form and dealt with the skeletons with my Sword, like Nike was doing, but the bloodlust of battle had taken over my senses, and nothing could wreak havoc like a stampeding, pissed off dragon.
I let out an earth-shaking roar as another wave of skeletons tried to surge past the guild members to get to Alyona. Then I bounded forward, and my massive legs cut through the distance in seconds. My jaws snatched up a skeleton that had bowled over a wolf Demi-Human, and the creature’s bones snapped between my sharp fangs as I shook my head back and forth. I spat out the brittle and dusty remains, and then I snarled as I swiped my tail to the side and took out another several opponents.
“Thank you, my lord,” the Demi-Human I’d saved grunted as he pulled himself to his feet. There were bloody scratches scored down his face, and one of his ears hung on by a thread as blood matted his silver fur.
“Hold still,” I growled as I bent down and touched my snout to his shoulder. Instantly, my healing power flowed through me and settled like a film of glitter against his skin. A moment later, he was completely healed.
The wolf bared his fangs in a savage grin of gratitude, and then he leapt back into the fray with a furious howl.
I crouched closer to the sand as I surveyed the battle in front of me. There were still hundreds of skeletons ambling across the sands, but my skilled comrades were making short work of them. I watched as Nike let out a primal scream and held his Sword up into the air, and then a moment later a blinding white light flashed in the desert. When the light faded, fifty skeletons had been reduced to ash, and Nike was already on to his next victim.
Well, I couldn’t be outshone like that, could I?
I gnashed my fangs as I lunged at the next passing skeleton, and I stomped the creature into the sand until nothing remained.
“Who’s next?” I snarled before I set my sights on my next target.
Slowly but surely, the tide of battle was beginning to turn, and the hundreds of mummified skeletons began to dwindle down to a more manageable number.
“Go after Aleksey!” Laika called out over the clamor of battle, and then she swung to hack at another group of mummified skeletons. “We can protect Milady!”
My eyes immediately snapped to Alyona. The priestess had not yet moved. She was still kneeling behind the ring of guild warriors with her hands clasped, but now her brow was furrowed, and sweat dripped down her throat in rivulets. The primal draconic instincts in me wanted to argue. They wanted to stay and rip apart every enemy that threatened my lovers. But I knew Laika was right. The longer I delayed the hunt, the further Aleksey got away.
“Nike!” I roared out before I snapped up another skelton and crushed it to nothing in my jaws.
My fellow Noble of the Sword ran toward me and jumped onto my back without me having to say another word. Then he clung onto one of the spikes along my spine as I took to the air.
“Head back to the safety of the city the moment this is over,” I growled to my people as I left a glittering wave of healing magic around them.
“Of course, my lord!” A voice cried out, but I wasn’t sure if it was Laika or one of the other warriors. “We’ll exterminate these vermin.”
I knew I could trust them to survive, the Blue Tree Guild were a
hardy bunch. It’d take more than a horde of decomposing mummies to take them down, and once Alyona finished enchanting the aqueduct, she’d turn those mummies to dust in the blink of an eye.
“I know you will,” I snarled as I turned toward the desert, “you won’t put Hatra or the Blue Tree Guild to shame.”
The desert’s golden sands were inviting, and although the shifting winds had hidden any traces of Aleksey, we didn’t need footsteps in the sand. There was an imperceptible trail of leaking power in the air, and it was a heady mix, as if someone had poured out an entire liquor cabinet into one bottle.
I realized this was the mixture of everyone’s power, and I bared my teeth as I remembered what he’d done to my family.
Following Aleksey was going to be far easier than we had first thought, but there was something to take care of first.
“Nike,” I called out my fellow Noble, “in case Aleksey really is under someone else’s control … they could be using him as their eyes and ears. We can’t let them know we suspect he might be under someone’s control.”
“The game would be up if that happened,” Nike agreed immediately. “Cruelty and harshness it is.”
“Well, it’s not like I’ll be faking that,” I grunted, and there was the promise of pain in my voice. “I’m going to be far from gentle with him.”
We travelled through the desert dunes and followed the trail of the power as it led us on a chase throughout the endless golden sands.
But there was something strange about this hunt. It was like no matter how much we travelled or how fast I flew, there was no end to the trail. It kept lengthening and shifting in front of us, almost as if the trail was alive.
“Evan, we’re going in circles!” Nike called out to me as he pointed to a large stone half exposed by the desert wind. “We’ve already passed that stone twice already.”
“What the fuck is going on?” I roared as I reared higher into the sky and looked for a better vantage point. “I thought he was going to be weak from the power overdose, why is it so difficult to find him?”
“He might have something to help him,” Nike replied as his energy pulsed out in front of us. “It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Aleksey has already betrayed humanity as it is, who knows what other demonic magic he may be using?”