Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools

by M. R. Mathias

  “Hyden Hawk,” Mikahl yelled from just behind Phen.

  “Let him be,” Phen warned. “Kill the Dragon Queen. Hyden knows what he’s about.”

  Phen couldn’t believe that he’d just ordered the High King like he was a kitchen maid. Then again, he couldn’t believe he was standing before a gateway to the Nethers, surrounded by all sorts of terrible creatures. He had forgotten completely that he was invisible. It seemed that all of the demon-kind could see him plainly, and things weren’t looking good.

  Mikahl slashed his way through the battling insects, swinging Ironspike around to force them back. The lyna of took full advantage of their fear of the sword’s power and soon had the bugs fleeing over the walls of the bailey garden or up onto the balcony of Shaella’s bedchamber.

  Gerard roared and sent a sizzling purple blast at Mikahl as he came up behind Shaella. Mikahl sent a white hot raging streak to meet the demon magic. The two channels of power collided in a blinding explosion and hung there. Mikahl’s magic wasn’t as strong as the Lord of the Hells’, and the surging purple ray moved back toward him swiftly. Using all his will and rage Mikahl fought against it, but it was no use. Already the tip of his sword was turning from its bright white radiance to a dull amber. The Abbadon was draining the power out of it. Mikahl fell to his knees, trying to avoid the tainted magic. He glanced at Hyden, who was still trapped in Shaella’s eldritch rope. He didn’t know what to do. Nearly the whole length of Ironspike’s blade was coated with viscous amber goo. A deathly icy feeling was creeping into the hilt now, and he could feel it reaching into his hand, and up his arm.

  Suddenly, Talon’s ear shattering shriek split the night. It was so loud and fierce that even Gerard looked up into the sky.

  Like a streaking shadow, the hawkling swooped. Raking claws shot across Shaella’s face. She had no choice but to let go of the hold she had on Hyden as she clutched, screaming, at her ruined eyes.

  Hyden felt the magical force let go of him and gave a roar of his own. He stumbled, then charged, leaping onto the thing that had once been his brother. His presence caused the creature to give up its attack on Mikahl. Hyden took a step up. Using Gerard’s thigh, he leapt onto his neck. Reaching around his brother, he rammed his hand into one of Gerard’s eye sockets with all he had left in him. As he did, Mikahl charged up behind Shaella with three running paces, and with a massive swing of Ironspike’s blade, sent her head tumbling through the air.

  ***

  Gerard saw the blow with one eye. He saw the blood fountain up out of the stump of Shaella’s neck and pour down her cleavage. He saw her body crumple to its knees and then pitch forward. He even saw the shocked expression on her face as her head hit the lawn. What he didn’t see was the blast from Mikahl’s sword that hit him full in the chest and sent him staggering over backwards into the hole that he’d come out of.

  “Jump away, Hyden!” Mikahl screamed to his friend. The beast was falling back into its hell and Mikahl didn’t understand why Hyden was still holding on.

  Phen understood, and he cast his spell, calling out the name of the man whose skull the wizard Zorellin had once dipped in molten silver. The three priests screamed in fear and pain as the form of the Silver Skull suddenly began to shrivel and melt away.

  Mikahl watched in terror as his friend clung viciously to the back of the raging demon god. For an instant, it looked like the powerful beast was going to catch air with its wings. A clawed hand found the edge of the hole and held on, and again it looked like the thing might pull itself back out of the seal, but first one lyna, then another came streaking across the lawn. The prickly-furred cats attacked Gerard’s gripping claw until it let go.

  “No, Spike!” Phen screamed as his familiar went over the edge with Hyden. Just as they fell away, the great whooshing sound of the seal faded, and the hole in the earth cinched closed.

  A screaming red-robed priest came charging at Phen, but one of the big hell-born things that escaped the Nethers snatched him up before he got halfway across the bailey. Apparently, King Mikahl, Phen, and Talon all had the same thought at the same time, because all three of them went racing toward the shambled gazebo where Princess Rosa was starting to wake from the spell she’d been under.

  Chapter Fifty

  “Look,” Commander Escott pointed with a face full of confusion.

  “By the gods!” Master Amill muttered. “Is it leaving?”

  “Let us hope so,” Escott answered in dismay. “If it is, we can walk right into Lokahna.”

  “It might be a trick.”

  Just after the sun set, the great bone-club wielding demon turned and started walking north. For days it had vigilantly guarded the bridge. Now it was trudging away.

  “I would think that since all of Queen Willa’s troops, the dwarves, and three fourths of our men are converging on Oktin, it’s heading there,” said Master Amill.

  “I agree,” commander Escott nodded as he moved away. A moment later he was barking orders across the encampment.

  Master Amill made a sending to Queen Willa to warn her of the approaching gargantuan beast.

  Escott was smart, Amill decided. The man was ready to take Lokahna with the troops he had. They hadn’t seen any foot soldiers across the river, only a small detachment of Dakaneese archers and cavalry. He really didn’t think he would be needed, other than to tend the wounded. Still, he concentrated his preparations on both attacking spells and those of healing. He could tell that the Dakaneese were as surprised by the beast’s departure as he was. He couldn’t imagine the coming battle to be anything less than a rout, but he wanted to be prepared for anything.

  ***

  Phen was closest to the gazebo, and he got there first. A small blaze had started off to one side of the octagonal construction where the altar candles ignited some of the drapes. One of the red priests pulled Rosa up to her knees by her hair. A gleaming blade was at her throat. He didn’t see Phen, but he saw Mikahl barreling up the wooden steps at him. Phen had to leap to the side to avoid Mikahl and his white-hot blade. Just as the priest started barking threats and pushing the edge of his steel into Rosa’s throat, Talon came round in a banking streak. The hawkling’s claws caught his hair and hood. Talon’s beak came down hard into the man’s eye. A thin ribbon of red appeared at the Princess’s throat but to Mikahl’s surprise the priest suddenly fell away. An invisible blow had caved in the back of his head. He crumpled forward, leaving Talon fluttering. Mikahl had to dive to catch the limp Princess before she came bashing down face first into a jagged piece of broken marble statue.

  “Was that you, Phen?” Mikahl asked, once he had Rosa’s head cradled in his lap.

  “Aye,” Phen said. He pulled Loak’s ring from his finger and became visible again. “Can you break the spell on her?” he asked. In the time he’d spent comforting the Princess he had grown fond of her.

  “I think Ironspike can pull her out of it.” Mikahl looked at the boy and noticed the streaks that tears had made on his dirty face. “What’s Hyden about?”

  “He’s dying,” Phen said, taking in a deep sucking breath to keep himself from breaking down into sobs in front of the High King. Talon fluttered down and landed on Phen’s shoulder. “He said he had to go into the darkness to find the light.”

  “That thing that stung him was a real bastard,” said Mikahl. He didn’t try to hide his tears either. The brightness of his blade slowly faded from its white glare to a warm radiant blue. The smoke from the gazebo was starting to smell like cooking meat as the fire found the priest’s body.

  “I don’t think I can carry you and her both on the bright horse,” Mikahl said as he and Phen pulled Rosa out of the burning structure.

  “Get her to safety,” Phen said, as he took in the moonlit garden. “Those things are gone now, I think. I destroyed the skull. I can hide, and work my way to safety. Besides, I think that Shaella’s dragon collar is out there in the grass somewhere. We wouldn’t want that to end up in the wrong hands.”
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br />   “Aye,” Mikahl gave the boy a nod of respect and a pat on the shoulder. He gently laid the flat of Ironspike’s blade against Rosa’s leg. The cobalt glow flared carmine for an instant, and a few seconds later the Princess was mumbling something and her eyes were fluttering open. When she saw Mikahl, she looked around fearfully, until her eyes fell on Phen. Then they grew wide and filled with confusion.

  “Oh, Pin, I had a dream,” she whispered shakily.

  “It was no dream,” Mikahl said, causing her to jerk her head toward him. When she saw him, a beautiful smile crept across her grimy face. He gave her his hand and helped her up.

  “I’ll get her to Dreen, where she’ll be safe,” the High King said. “Then I’ll come back for you.”

  “Aye,” Phen nodded. He held up Loak’s ring. “You may not see me, but I’ll be looking for you.” He hoped to find the dragon’s collar and be able to leave right behind Mikahl. Even through all of his grief, the prospect of a riding a dragon put fire in his blood.

  Phen had to squint when the bright horse flared to life. Mikahl led Rosa to the fiery magical pegasus and helped her climb on. Talon cooed his awe into Phen’s ear as Mikahl joined her and the bright horse carried them away.

  Phen tried in vain not to think about Hyden. He started searching the garden grounds for the dragon collar, but it was hard to see through the river of tears.

  ***

  At an altitude higher than the breed giants could shoot their dragon guns, and using a spell that allowed him to see quite clearly what was below him, Flick surveyed the strange movements of Jarrek’s troops. Vrot was flying dutifully beside the Choska Flick was riding. Even the dragon was amazed at what they were seeing below. The Wolf King’s army had all but disappeared from the face of the earth. It took them a while, but the cunning black dragon finally figured out that they had gone into a tunnel or a cave. Once that notion was established, Flick deduced that the dwarves he’d seen had been instrumental in sinking Seareach. The squat men were fabled diggers and rocksmiths who’d once had a great kingdom in the realm. How Jarrek persuaded them to return and fight for him, Flick couldn’t guess. The wizard realized that they were probably going to come up out of the ground in Dakahn somewhere. An attack was the only reason he could think that they would travel in such a manner. He had Vrot and the Choska making long sweeps as they worked their way south, hoping to find a sign of where they were going to emerge.

  A short while after the sun went down, the dragon came near to him and spoke. Flick didn’t have the collar on, but he understood enough of the old language to make out some words.

  “The Queen has coupled with the darkness,” he mistranslated. He figured that Vrot meant Gerard had come forth. The dragon’s actual words were, “The Queen has found her death.

  A short while later, when the dragon peeled away and sped off to the west, Flick assumed that Shaella had called him back to her. He put it out of his mind. She’d ordered him to aid Ra’Gren at his discretion. If he could find the place where Jarrek and his dwarves we’re going to come out of their tunnel, then he could try and block it, or cave it in. If he couldn’t find it, he would be forced to fly to O’Dakahn and consort with Ra’Gren. That was something he didn’t want to do. He could barely stand to think about the Dakaneese King.

  Flick searched until the sun began to lighten the sky in the east. If they were coming out near Seareach, in the foothills along the border, then they were waiting for something, he decided. He half hoped to see Shaella flying to his aid from the west, but he knew that she wouldn’t leave Gerard so soon after his return. He wondered why she’d called Vrot to her. Discouraged, and feeling more than a little jealous, he willed the Choska southward toward O’Dakahn. He decided that ousting the repulsive king of slaves and sell-swords out of his bed before dawn might make him feel better.

  ***

  Phen found the collar Shaella had been wearing, but a few heartbeats too late. The surviving red priest was huddled in a dark corner, trying to fasten it around his neck. It was so bloody that the clasps kept slipping between his fingers. Talon tried to attack the man, but was batted away brutally. Phen didn’t know what to do, so he cast the first spell that came to mind. A sudden burst of thorny vines shot up from the earth and entangled the priest. The priest was mystified, searching the garden yard for his unseen attacker. A ball of fire flared forth and burned the prickly foliage away. He looked around frantically, but all his eyes could find was Talon, who was nursing a dislocated wing and hobbling toward the base of one of the stone walls that surrounded the garden yard. The priest gave up fumbling with the collar for a moment and began casting another spell.

  Phen was overcome with panic. The spell was obviously directed at Talon. He racked his brain for something that might help them. Distraction was the best he could come up with.

  “Don’t you dare do it!” Phen warned ominously. He darted a few feet away from where he had spoken, just in case the old man had sharp ears.

  “Who goes there?” the priest yelled. He began trying to get the collar back on his neck. At least he seemed to have forgotten about Talon.

  “I’m nothing but a wisp,” Phen said as he cast his little orb of light into being. It appeared in his hand then floated slowly up and came to rest above his head. The priest’s eyes locked onto the glowing ball and his brows narrowed. Phen used the same spell that Hyden had used to make Oarly’s boot vanish. He strode forth, touched the collar, and made it disappear, before quickly backing away. The collar reappeared in a little space of Phen’s making. Unlike Hyden, he would be able to retrieve it later.

  The priest’s face seemed to draw in toward a point at the bridge of his nose. His snarling growl was so deep and angry that it startled Phen. An icy grasp reached into Phen and clasped his heart. He knew then that he was in trouble. This was far more than just an old devil-worshiping priest. Already the dragon collar was back in the man’s hand.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Phen caught sight of Talon struggling to get his wing back into a normal position. Inside his chest the grip seemed to be strangling the beat of his heart. Its coldness took his breath away.

  The priest murmured some words then grinned as he saw plainly what his magical grip had taken hold of. He took his time then, and carefully got the collar buckled around his neck. The whole time the anticipation of getting to kill the boy who had ruined the Silver Skull was growing inside him.

  Phen tried to struggle free, but couldn’t. He could see the hatred forming in the priest’s eyes. He wasn’t invisible to the man anymore and he knew it. He should have known better than to have underestimated the old mage. The red priests had managed to summon Hyden’s brother with the Silver Skull, and they’d trapped the High King and taken Ironspike. Who was he to tangle was such a force?

  He glanced around, searching for anything that might help them. Talon seemed to have snapped his wing back into position, but wasn’t able to take flight. The poor hawkling was trembling and in obvious pain. Phen thought it was possible that the priest had a similar grip on Talon’s heart. He felt his pulse fading. His heart was being crushed and it seemed as if his guts were freezing solid.

  “I should tear you into little bitty pieces for what you’ve done, boy,” the priest growled. He put his hate filled eyes inches from Phen’s. His breath was hot and smelled of onions and fermented fruit. “I would relish the sounds you’d make as you came apart.” Spittle sprayed from his mouth as he spoke. “Kraw would enjoy the taste of you, I think.”

  The icy grip inside Phen let loose then, and he gasped for breath. A brutal backhand took him across the face, knocking him to the ground. “A quick death would be too good for you,” the priest snapped.

  Talon hop-flapped across the lawn, and ended up on top of Phen’s chest. The hawkling cawed at the evil necromancer.

  “I’ll think I’ll save you for later.” The priest murmured a few words and made a quick gesture with his hand. The world stopped then. A bitter chill, far more pote
nt than the grasp, consumed Phen. Then everything slipped into blackness.

  ***

  Had Flick flown just a little farther east when he was searching for Jarrek and the dwarves he would have found them massing in the town of Alliak. They had quickly taken it over and we’re now preparing to march west to try and trap the remaining Dakaneese forces against the new lake.

  If Flick had been farther north, he might have seen the bright white shining magical Pegasus that carried the High King and Princess Rosa over the Wilder Mountains toward Dreen, but he saw neither. All he saw was the huge filthy cesspool of O’Dakahn growing larger and larger on the southern horizon as he raced to get there before Ra’Gren could crawl out of bed.

  ***

  High King Mikahl and Princess Rosa landed inside the fenced protective walls of Dreen’s modest castle yard just after sunrise. After escorting her to General Spyra and placing her into his care, Mikahl found Lord Gregory and told him what happened in Westland. It was hard to be happy with the news of Sir Hyden Hawk’s fate, but the prospect of retaking Westland from the zard excited the Lion Lord. Lord Gregory outlined King Jarrek’s current plans, and Mikahl promised to come to their aid just as soon as he went and retrieved Phen from Lakeside Castle.

  It was with much elation and a sense of new found hope that Lord Gregory dispatched a rider to catch up with Queen Willa and King Granitheart, who were on their way to Oktin. After that, he had Lady Trella see to the needs of Princess Rosa and wrote a proper letter to Queen Rachel telling her that her daughter was now safe and out of the Dragon Queen’s hands. Then, as soon the messenger bird was away, he found the map room and began making preliminary plans to take Westland back from the skeeks.