The Warden and the Shadow Queen: The Warden Saga Book 3

by Paul Summerhayes

  “Hurry, you fools,” shouted Eichmann, whose voice was somehow heard above the din. “She must be sacrificed now—”

  Just then the main doors burst open and a short, broad-shouldered being stood in the doorway brandishing a large two-headed battle axe. His black beard and hair were unruly and his massive armoured chest was splattered with blood. He looked to be shouting something as his mouth was moving, but Anna couldn’t hear his words.

  Another demon?! No. She recognised the newcomer was a dwarf, but was he a friend or foe?

  The four soldiers beside the door drew their weapons and leapt at the dwarf, hoping to overpower the smaller warrior. But the dwarf wasn’t to be taken by surprise and batted away an attack aimed at him like he was hitting a bug. His battle axe continued in a circle over his head and back at his assailant where it bit deep into the man’s neck, removing his head from his shoulders. Blood sprayed onto the wall as the headless corpse collapsed.

  One of Anna’s guards loosened his grip on her arm and she turned away from the berserk dwarf to glance at the man. His face displayed shock as he stared down at a foot of black steel protruding from his chest. While she stared, the man’s blood seemed to be absorbed into the black sword’s surface.

  What’s going on?! she screamed silently.

  Numbed by the changing events, she stared at the sword in disbelief. The soldier coughed and blood bubbled from his mouth and ran down his chin. His eyes pleaded with her for help, but what could she do? The sword blade was withdrawn and the soldier crumpled lifelessly to the floor.

  Beyond all hope, Finn now stood before her. Their eyes locked and in a heartbeat understanding passed between them. He had finally come for her! A grim smiled touched his lips and Anna’s heart was flooded with hope.

  Am I saved?

  The euphoric feeling was short lived as the other guard pulled her away from Finn and toward the old mage.

  “Kill him!” someone screamed nearby. It was Tollis, his nails dug painfully into her flesh as he grabbed her free arm. The second guard obeyed and leapt at Finn. There was a clash of swords as the two locked in combat.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the zombie soldiers along the walls animate, obeying their master’s commands. They were a wall of rusting armour and rotting flesh, and in unison, they moved toward Finn in a strange rhythmic motion.

  “No!” The sound was ripped from her throat, but no one heard it.

  Tollis pulled Anna away from Finn, but after several strides stopped. Anna spun around and looked toward her captor. He was looking down at something, and following his eyes, Anna looked into Flea’s ugly brown face. The goblin smiled wickedly at Tollis, he held a strange black dagger in his clawed hands and he had a murderous look in his eyes.

  “Get out of my way, rat!” said Tollis.

  “Not rat! I’m Flea.”

  The goblin leapt at Tollis, slashing at the man with the shadow dagger. Tollis gave a squeal and jumped back. He avoided being stabbed, but still received a shallow cut across the back of his hand. He released Anna and drew his own sword, a narrow blade of exceptional craftsmanship.

  “I’ll kill you!” said Tollis and he swung his sword at the goblin’s head with all his strength. But the goblin was quicker than the man and ducked under the blow and through his legs. Before Tollis could turn, Flea had raised the dagger and with two hands, slashed at Anna.

  Anna raised her manacled hands in defence, but she was too late. “No...”

  Chapter 25

  The shadow dagger arced through the air and connected with the silver chain at Anna’s wrist. There was a flash of white light and an explosion as they touched, throwing Anna several yards backward where she landed heavily. Dazed, she rose up onto one elbow and rubbed her head. White spots before her eyes obscured her vision and a ringing in her ears drowned out the sounds of battle.

  Tollis stood over a prostrated Flea with his sword raised. The stunned goblin was unaware of the doom that stood over him and groggily, he tried to stand. Tollis raised his sword and thrust it into the defenceless goblin’s chest, leaning on the sword to drive it deeper. Flea thrashed, like a worm on a hook, trying to get away.

  “No!” shouted Anna and an invisible shockwave pulsed out from her body and knocked over everyone close by. The room was thrown into an eerie silence as she rose to her feet. She looked down at her wrists—she was no longer chained. She was free!

  Waves of raw power coursed through her, making her body tingle. Her brown eyes darkened, becoming two pools of unreadable oily blackness. A cruel smile touched her lips as she opened and clenched her fists, almost like she was testing them for the first time.

  At her feet, a smoky shadow formed and quickly covered her legs, then her abdomen, and then moved over her torso. The shadows snaked along her arms and formed long sleeves. Within a few heartbeats, Anna was totally clothed in shadows, leaving only her face and hands exposed.

  Tollis was one of the first to come to his senses and grabbing his sword, still dripping with Flea’s blood, he stood up. He swung his weapon at Anna’s head. Without taking her focus off the fallen goblin, Anna deflected the blow with her forearm, sending the weapon cartwheeling through the air. It hit a wall twenty yards away.

  Surprised, Tollis staggered back, unable to take his eyes off the young woman. Anna’s attention whipped around and focused on him, her black eyes seemed to burn into his soul. Dropping to his knees, he whimpered like a scolded child and for the first time, he realised what a mistake he had made.

  “No,” he pleaded as shadow-like tentacles travelled from Anna’s extended arm and slithered around his body. It lifted him to his feet and drew him toward her. She leant into his face and stared directly into his eyes. His fear made him unable to meet her otherworldly gaze and closing his eyes, he turned away.

  “Your death will not be as long and painful as you deserve,” she said in a cold, emotionless voice. The shadow tentacles snaked around Tollis’s body and thickened, becoming as round as a man’s arm. Slowly, they tightened, squeezing Tollis. He screamed in agony, and a short moment later there was a popping sound and his screams stopped. The tentacles released him and a bloody pulp of meat splashed onto the floor.

  Tollis was no more.

  Sparks flew off the black blade as Finn parried a sword thrust aimed at his chest. The next thing he knew, his vision spun as he was dragged off his feet and thrown through the air. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed heavily on his back, and the black sword was torn from his grip and skidded across the floor.

  He gasped for breath. What was that?

  Finn staggered to his feet and dizzily surveyed the room for the cause of the explosion, but there was no time for that. The zombie soldiers recovered quickly and were almost on him. He cursed and scrambled for his sword. Scooping it up with one hand, he struck down on the first undead’s head within reach. The blade passed through its helm to shatter bones beneath, dropping it to the ground.

  He spun to face his next opponent and saw Anna covered in a black substance which was connected to Tollis. She needed his help! Panicking, he shouldered past a zombie, moving toward her. A moment later, what was left of Tollis was released from the shadowy substance and it splashed onto the floor. Still covered in shadows, Anna stood unharmed.

  What madness is this?

  The three mages were not aware of the things happening around them and kept going with their chant. Tollis’s blood flowed into the inscribed circle and the form at its centre quickly took the shape of a large, heavily-muscled beast. It had dark red skin and was roughly man-shaped, only twice as tall. Two long, twisted horns protruded from a hideously ugly head and its skin was lumpy and heavily scarred, with long needle-like thorns covering its arms, legs and back. It was the demon from Finn’s nightmares.

  The magical lightning faded and then stopped as the demon flexed its muscles, testing its new physical form. It glanced around at its surroundings and like any alpha beast, roared a challenge to
all present. The sound echoed off the walls and shook the building. Every person in the palace heard that call and most were frozen with fear.

  The mages staggered back, exhausted from their efforts and the realisation of their folly hit home. This demon was never going to accept servitude. They had released a creature from another realm and it was beyond any mortals’ ability to restrain it.

  The demon stooped down and grabbed the blue mage by his neck, lifting him off the ground. The hapless man screamed and kicked frantically until the demon plucked off his head like a child picked a flower. Blood spurted into the air as the headless body went limp. The demon studied the lifeless man as though it wasn’t sure what it was. After several long moments, it bit a large chunk of flesh off the body and swallowed it in one gulp. Not satisfied, the demon roared and cast the man aside. The lifeless body flew through the air and smashed wetly against a wall thirty yards away.

  Mesmerised for a few moments by the demon killing the mage, Finn almost lost his head. The eldon jumped back just in time as a zombie’s weapon swooshed through the air. Tollis was dead, but his undead soldiers still obeyed his last order to kill.

  Finn struck low and hacked off the zombie’s leg below the knee. It fell sideways and before it hit the ground, the eldon’s blade ended its existence by removing its helmeted head.

  He weighed up his odds as a dozen armoured zombies pressed in on him from three sides, cutting him off from Anna. They pushed him back, a solid wall of decaying flesh and slashing swords. There was nowhere to go.

  A zombie slashed at Finn, and the eldon narrowly sidestepped the attack. He retaliated with a lightning strike of his own, chopping down with his weapon and removing the zombie’s sword arm at the shoulder. Not realising that it had lost an arm, the mindless creature shambled forward, grabbing Finn by the neck with its remaining hand. Its lifeless fingernails dug into his flesh, drawing blood.

  Finn flicked his sword blade up and it passed cleanly through the zombie’s remaining arm. He kicked the creature in the stomach and it toppled over. As it tried to rise, he finished it by removing its head. He then grabbed the zombie’s severed arm, still holding his neck, and cast it away.

  “Apgrim!”

  Finn heard Karok’s war cry and turned to find his friend. There were many zombie bodies piled up around him and every swing of his battle axe made zombie bits fly into the air. Most of his exposed skin was bloody from numerous scratches and cuts, but he smiled grimly. Fighting was his profession and he was a skilful practitioner.

  The remaining mages batted the demon with magical energy from two sides. They seemed to be containing it within the circle. The creature’s massive form was hunched over, and it visibly strained against the coloured light that flashed around it.

  The demon roared in frustration and anger, causing the red mage’s concentration to waver for a moment, but that’s all it took. It lashed out with its clawed hand, opening up deep rents in the mage’s flesh and ripping the front of his robe to threads. The man screamed in agony before the demon smashed his head with a fist bigger than a melon. The mage’s mangled body lay twitching on the floor for moment and then went still.

  Eichmann didn’t have the magical strength to hold the demon for long. The hell-spawned monstrosity pushed against the old mage’s blue light shield and slowly took a step forward. Sweat formed on the mage’s face and he clenched his teeth with the strain. The demon took another slow step forward and Eichmann’s feet slid back across the tiles an equal distance. The creature was forcing its way out of the circle, and Finn guessed that was a bad thing.

  If that thing gets loose in the world, there will be no stopping it.

  There was no choice, Finn had to try and stop it. He shouldered his way past a zombie and charged straight for the demon. The monstrous creature concentrated on the old mage and didn’t see him coming. Running at it at full speed, he drove the black sword into the creature’s side up to its hilt. Black blood spewed from the wound and it howled in pain, swatting Finn with a meaty hand. Stunned, the eldon sailed through the air, landing heavily on the floor and sliding several yards before coming to a stop.

  “Nooo!” someone screamed. It sounded like Anna...Finn’s vision faded and all went black.

  Chapter 26

  The roar of the sea was loud in Finn’s ears, and for a moment he thought he was back on the Sea Harvest. An excruciating pain shot through his body and it felt like a mountain had fallen on him. He lay still for a moment before gingerly opening his eyes. His senses were swamped and he remembered the throne room...

  It was dark, but not a natural darkness as Finn could see that all of the room’s lamps were still lit. His skin tingled and hairs on the back of his neck stood up—this had to be magic!

  Across the darkened room, Karok leant on his axe shaft, it propped him up like a walking stick. Blood trickled from a jagged wound on his forehead, but he didn’t seem to notice. He stood amongst an ocean of mangled corpses, breathing hard. There was only one zombie still standing and a dent in its rusty armour was evidence of where the dwarf’s axe had already hit it. Oblivious to its wounds, it came at the dwarf with the mindless determination of the undead.

  Karok removed his hatchet from his belt and threw it at the zombie, hitting it square in the forehead. But it kept coming. The dwarf shrugged and hefted his battle axe high, waiting for the zombie to take another step. He struck at the zombie’s skull and the axe’s momentum drove it all the way through the zombie’s body, splitting it from head to groin. It crumpled to the ground and the dwarf lowered his weapon to the floor. He looked spent. That was something Finn thought he would never see.

  Finn shook his head, trying to clear his senses. At the centre of the enchanted circle, dark shapes moved within its inky blackness. The shapes were illuminated by periodic flashes of coloured light, revealing the massive demon wrestling a smaller person. A person clothed in black. Mordan? No, the person was a lot shorter than the tall alp. It was Anna.

  “No!” Finn cried out in anguish, clenching his fists. He felt like he was being torn apart by the sight before him.

  Eichmann’s crumpled form lay outside the demonic circle were the battle took place. Anna, clothed in shadows, battled with the towering demon. How she was still alive was a miracle. The beast lowered his head and tried to gorge her, but thick black tentacles snaked out from her body and locked around the creature’s horns, stopping their downward movement. Finn couldn’t see Anna’s face in the gloom, but he could see the strain on the demon’s.

  What’s happening?

  Finn’s mind raced, trying to decipher what he was witnessing. How could Anna fight a monster, a creature not of this world? None of this made sense. I must help Anna! Grunting, he pushed himself to his feet and his head spun. His head throbbed and his body was rife with pain.

  He groaned and limped forward several steps before he realised he had no weapon. The black sword! It was still in the demon’s side...

  Finn hastily surveyed his surroundings and scooped up a dropped sword amongst the litter of zombie bodies. It was notched and rusty, but it would do. He couldn’t let Anna fight this demon by herself! He had come a long way to find her and wasn’t going to let anything happen to her now.

  Blocking out his pain, Finn shouted a battle cry and charged the demon. He covered the ground quickly and crossing over the circle’s perimeter, he brought down the sword onto one of its spiny legs. The rusty blade bounced off and the impact vibrated into Finn’s arms. It was like hitting a stone wall. And what’s more, the demon didn’t even appear to notice. It was more interested in killing Anna, whose shadow tentacles slowly engulfed it.

  Not being deterred, he struck at the demon’s leg again, the impact jarring his arms. This is not going to work! Amongst the coils of shadows engulfing the demon was the black sword, still lodged in the creature’s side. Throwing aside the rusty weapon, Finn grabbed the black hilt and pulled with two hands. But it didn’t budge.

  The demon m
ust have felt something and knocked him away with the back of its free hand. Finn hit the ground hard and slid several yards before he stopped. Blood flowed from a gash along his cheek, but he smiled grimly as he looked down at the black sword in his hands. It must have dislodged when he was struck. There was no time to think about it now. Standing, he prepared to attack the demon again.

  Before Finn charged in again, a cloaked shape sprinted through the main doorway and leapt ten yards through the air and onto the demon’s back. It rained down blow after blow in rapid succession and the demon howled in pain as its black blood sprayed into the air. It was Mordan, the alp had finally arrived and the demon staggered under his attacks.

  By now, most of the demon’s torso was restrained by shadow tentacles. But one massive clawed arm was free and the demon reached over its shoulder, grabbing Mordan by the neck. It flung him across the room like a rag doll and he impacted a wall with a sickening crunch. The alp fell limply to the floor and didn’t get up.

  Impossible... Finn stood and breathed deeply. It bleeds, it can be killed. Let’s see how it feels about the black sword in its guts! The young eldon clenched his teeth and charged the hell-spawned demon.

  From across the room, Karok saw what Finn was doing and charged the demon as well, raising his axe high. The dwarf’s battle axe struck the demon just above its knee and the axe shattered on impact, throwing the dwarf onto his back. “Orocdynga!” he cursed.

  A moment later, Finn struck, this time he aimed for the creature’s exposed spine. His sword hit true and opened the unearthly flesh to the bone. Foul-smelling blood spilled onto the floor, splashing against Finn’s shins. It howled in pain and struggled to turn and face him, but Anna’s shadows had it securely ensnared. It was going nowhere.

  Finn leapt back and glanced at Anna, who was only several yards away. She was covered in shadows which connected her to the demon. Her exposed face was a mask of concentration and covered in sweat. He sucked in his breath. No! Her eyes were totally black—like Mordan’s.