“I’ll take ten legions and we’ll leave once this fire is dwindled to smoke.” Octavos paused, clearly thinking but wasn’t speaking what was on his mind.
“What friend?” Cobaaron asked.
“I...I want to take the girl,” Octavos said.
“What girl?” Cobaaron asked, unable to hold back his surprise.
“That girl who offered to separate from the group in the castle. She might be useful,” Octavos said.
“Oh, Athaya,” Ky said.
“Yes,” Octavos said glancing at Ky. “If that is her name.”
“She’s a woman. She’ll only slow you down. There is no logic in that. If you take her, you would have to take others. I don’t think it’s practical. No, you can’t take her.” Cobaaron shook his head in refusal.
“I noticed she’s a woman. I still think she might be of some use,” Octavos insisted.
Cobaaron stared at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it. Cobaaron blinked. Ky said what Cobaaron was obviously piecing together, but refusing to say. “You’re interested in her.”
“He’s second-in-command, Ky. Warriors don’t fall in love,” Cobaaron replied.
“You did,” Ky reminded him.
“That is different. We had an accidental union which made me feel things I’d never have felt otherwise,” Cobaaron said.
Ky glared at him.
“I am taking the woman,” Octavos stated flatly.
“Not while under my command.”
“Then I release myself from your army. This will be my last mission. Although, I’ll no longer call myself a warrior. And I will take the girl.”
“Mother of pearl, Octavos,” Cobaaron said hotly. “What is wrong with you? If you feel that strongly about the little woman, take her, but I don’t like the idea. It’s foolish. You don’t have to step down. I won’t accept your release.”
“I’ve never had strong ambitions like you, and I only became second-in-command because we’re friends. You’re like a brother to me.”
“You haven’t profited from knowing me,” Cobaaron interrupted. “If anyone has profited by knowing me it’s Noxis. You and I think alike. You have the mind of a leader. You fight like a leader. My men trust you. No, we are not having this conversation, and you aren’t stepping down.”
“I am stepping down, Cobaaron. I’m not bringing this to you as a spur of the moment decision. I’ve been thinking about this for some time. And now you will be king, once you declare it to the world. You will want to give the army to me when I’ve never wished to control your militia you built. It’s the perfect time to step down, and I am stepping down. I’ll serve you in some other way, but not as chief of your army.”
“So I’m to give this army to my brother?” Cobaaron asked and scoffed at the idea. “He’d be dead in a week. He’s not ready, and may never be. He killed Oella out of fear, and didn’t stop to think. He makes a lot of mistakes like that. I can’t give the army to him. It was supposed to be you; it was always supposed to be you. He would be lucky not to die the day I pass down the army to him.”
“I never wanted it. I thought I was clear when I’ve mentioned it to you before.”
“I thought you were showing me your loyalty and letting me know I could trust you not to kill me in my sleep,” Cobaaron said. They both fell silent. Cobaaron shook his head angrily and looked away. Neither spoke for a few minutes.
“Well, I’m sure he’ll need to form a council,” Ky suggested, trying to break the tension.
“That isn’t really for you, a woman, to say,” Octavos grunted in disapproval.
“Well, if you keep talking to women like they’re second rate, Athaya will never be interested in you. She’s not like the other women. She’s not as eager to do anything for a baby,” Ky snapped.
“Please, Octavos, that is my partner—an extension of me. Respect her as you do me. And Ky please try to get along with him. He’s my closest friend. Don’t speak to him the way I allow you to challenge me.” Cobaaron spoke to Octavos again, adding, “She’s right, though. You’ll be second to me still, even when I’m king. You will be the prime councilman. I’ll present my men with a tournament. At least then I won’t have to give my brother a death sentence.”
“I’d do the same thing,” Octavos said in agreement. “They should battle out their leader. I don’t believe Noxis wishes for your army either. Let’s hope he’s pleased.”
“If not, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s quarreled with me,” Cobaaron said with a small smile. “I’m sure he’ll see the wisdom in my decision.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Huntra!” Ky called out when she saw him. He hopped toward her in a hurry. The thick layer of smoldering gray ash stirred as he rushed to meet her. He grew as he approached her, and stopped to head-butt her with an affectionate hello, and then began to purr. Ky petted him behind the ear and spoke softly to him.
It had taken nearly a week for the dragons’ fire to snuff out enough that Ambrosia could smother the fire with magical wind to make a path to reunite the two groups. All the warriors and women trapped in the circle, emerged from the few burnt trees left standing, looking tired but otherwise surprisingly healthy. Oella’s magic kept it from burning even after she died. Their numbers were higher than Cobaaron had thought. They lost over a legion, which was less than anticipated. The women were down to seventy-eight including Ky. Yet there was still a sense of triumph. A king was dead. The women spoke of nothing but wanting to celebrate and honor their king with an elaborate feast.
After the week of staying outside the forest in homes made of stacked rocks from the fallen castle, it was time to leave and begin the long journey to Escape Mountains, which were far south. People were getting restless being out in the exposed air.
Octavos wasted no time choosing the best men to go with him, and sprung it on Athaya at the last second that she was to accompany him and commanded warriors to make eight palanquins so Athaya could bring women with her. The news surprised many, especially Vergara, who protested loudly that Athaya shouldn’t be singled out to leave. Nevertheless, Athaya was asked to choose seven women to join her. Without delay, the men separated from the army and began their journey.
Ky and Huntra made their way past the troops which would follow Cobaaron. She could hear the warriors speaking of the once thriving woods. What they used to call the Black Forest was referred to by a new name, the Dead Forest, because it would never grow again after being burnt by dragon fire, unless healed by the greater magic of elves, goblins, or moon ash.
The trees were so few, Ky could see for miles. She kept looking back to the other group of warriors that left with Octavos and Athaya, as their distance grew. They were avoiding the giant soft shell turtle that emerged from the lakebed in search of a new home.
The sparse forest made it easy for Cobaaron and his troops to cross the valley. They covered a lot of ground very quickly. By evening they had walked so far they were approaching the edge of the Dead Forest where fire still raged. Ky could see the orange flames, tall and whipping high in the sky. Fire was tearing through the land in the direction the wind blew.
Ky could see the blaze extend across the horizon like an orange sunset. The fire was in their path, and when it became clear they couldn’t go around, they were forced to stop. The rest was welcome to all the women, who after several weeks of traveling, still weren’t used to roaming for so long.
The warriors gathered half-burnt logs. Women sat around their fires to warm themselves, while the warriors surrounded everyone as a hedge of protection, and they all waited.
Cobaaron was oddly quiet. After asking repeatedly what was wrong, and him responding by saying nothing, Ky gave up and decided to give into her exhaustion. It had been hard to get adequate sleep while on hard ground in the brick homes. She couldn’t get used to not sleeping in a bed. Huntra’s fur felt like a soft mat. She curled up in her blanket within his room. Her heavy eyes closed, without need
ing to adjust, she fell into a deep slumber.
She dreamed of sailing the ocean, except the ships had writing on the sails. When she read the writing, the letters got smaller to the point that she couldn’t decipher what it said. There were hundreds of ships around her, and all of them were drifting through underground tunnels in fast-flowing water. The splashing waves sprayed, flooding the deck and rocking the vessel violently. The current slammed the ships into the jagged stone walls. Ky was screaming as she tried to cling to the rigging with a tight grip. One by one the ships were separating by entering different passageways. Finally, there was only her boat and when she felt like she couldn’t hold on any longer, the water calmed. Ky found herself floating up into an enormous underground lake. The ship drifted to the shore as the ship spun. It felt like hours later when Ky screamed. A giant hand of King Verellis picked up the ship.
Ky was so startled she sat up, fully awake. Huntra’s box melted away when Ky bolted upright. She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but everyone had dozed off except Cobaaron. She slid off Huntra’s back, and joined him by the campfire. There was a gentle soothing snore among all the sleeping men.
As Cobaaron rested in front of a fire, his hands were in the flames. Every once in awhile he would try to clutch flames or even create them having his hand blazing brightly. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I was going to ask you that. Why didn’t you join me?”
“It looks like there will be a storm.” He glanced into the sky. Big dark clouds were churning, as they brew overhead. “There is lightning over the fire, to the south.” He pointed to the storm. Ky could see silent bolts of lightning in ominous black clouds. It was still too far away to hear the thunder, but each time the lightning flashed the sky, she could see vast and violent clouds.
“Looks pretty gruesome.”
“If a tornado strikes us…” Cobaaron began to say but then stopped talking and glanced at his men, and the women. He took a deep breath and again made his hand flame.
“Is that likely?” Ky asked.
“I said if, but truly I mean when and where,” Cobaaron uttered. “I should have foreseen this. Of course the fire would have caused the storm. One more mistake I’ve made in the last few days.” He was quiet again. Ky leaned against his arm. A few silent minutes passed before he continued: “I’ve been making them a lot lately. I shouldn’t have left you alone when we were lost in the castle. My men still think you’re a witch even after hearing about the archive. They think the hot air balloon was proof of your incredible power. We lost over three thousand men, and I can’t help wonder if I had chosen some other way, other than the balloon, more men would have lived.”
“Are you saying you’re mad at me?”
“No, it was my decision, Ky. I am chief. I carry all blame. Their deaths are making me wonder whom else I’ll be sacrificing for this journey.” He dropped a hand onto her lap as he continued to stare into the fire.
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Cobaaron.”
“No, I’m being practical. And I’m thinking of you, Ky. My men think you’re a witch and I can’t keep you by my side all the time. It seems the moment I leave you, you’re vulnerable.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know,” he said, but Ky could hear that he didn’t believe she could. “I’m expecting a lot from a vulnerable Star.”
“This will be over soon. You killed a king. Of course there was going to be loss. Don’t think about it.”
“Yes, that is your motto, isn’t it? Don’t think about it.” He laughed under his breath. “I’ve never lost so many men in one day. I don’t want to lose you.”
“The prophecy says I don’t die.”
“There are a lot of other ways of losing you, Ky. Death is only one way to be separated.”
“Why don’t you go to sleep in Huntra’s bed,” Ky said. “You’re tired. You’ll feel better after you’ve rested.”
The wind began to blow. It smelled like smoke. “No. I should be awake to keep an eye on the storm.”
“Why don’t I watch it for you?”
He smiled. “Thank you, love, but why don’t you watch it with me? I want you near.”
They both began to play with the flames. “I find fire more fascinating than I used to,” Ky admitted. Cobaaron nodded, saying that he was now drawn to it, too. They were quiet trying to ignore the growing storm, until they no longer could.
The wind slowly picked up. The smoke was stronger, and the sound of thunder rumbled. The churning hot air and bad weather was quickly getting worse. “Look.” Cobaaron pointed to the blazing horizon, which shifted and before their eyes a funnel came out of the clouds toward the fire.
Flames twirled violently into the funnel, and as it did, the tornado widened. In moments the vortex of wild wind doubled. Across the heavens, an enormous flash with jagged splinters spread over the sky from north to south. It lit the earth below, and the clap of thunder was deafening. The twister raged, tearing through trees and the dusty earth as it continued to expand. Cobaaron stood and told his men to stir the women.
“Wake Huntra,” he said to Ky. “It begins.”
Warriors got up, and ordered the others to wake. The smell of smoke soon had everyone’s attention. The winds blew harder over the flat plains, and gradually continued to pick up speed until it was a strong bluster. The tornado was growing as it sucked in more fire and ash. It thrashed about in the midst of the fire in the far horizon.
The smoke began to burn Ky’s eyes. She strained to watch the twister. It had managed to spread out a mile wide of hot coiling fire. Then it split. One continued engulfing the forest, while the other jumped to the charcoal woods of smoldering ash and sparse trees. The amber flames in the tornado mixed with the ash, and ominous billowing looked like a boiling furnace racing across the terrain. “Run!” Cobaaron roared.
Huntra ran to Ky. She hadn’t awoken him, because she was still looking at the tornado. He scratched at her as she tried to run. She stooped to pick him up, but when she did she noticed he wasn’t looking at her or the storm. He was looking at something else.
“Cobaaron look,” Ky yelled as she pointed. A large glowing orb was zooming toward them from several hundred yards away. Behind it was a wide cloud of disturbed ash.
The rushing wind was loud in Ky’s ears. She couldn’t hear Cobaaron’s words, but all the warriors drew their weapons. Warriors advanced, and sped ahead of Ky, charging the orb as they outran her and the women. The warriors weren’t going to stop for whatever was approaching them. The twister was closing in on them from behind.
The gust was so strong that Ky could no long run. The wind was pushing her backward. She held Huntra tighter against her chest. She wished he would grow and put her on his back, but he was uncommonly still. Why he stubbornly chose this moment was aggravating, considering Ky was much lighter than Huntra when large. Cobaaron grasped Ky’s arm and yanked her forward. He held her tight enough that she could resist the wind, and they ran again.
The orb was moving so fast it quickly gained ground until not a hundred yards were between them. All the warriors bellowed in a simultaneous battle cry. The women screamed, knowing they would soon be in the midst of a battle and tornado.
Ky peered back seeing the twister was bending as it zigzagged over the bare land. There was a huge cloud of ash spinning around the base. The whirlwind was yanking dead trees from the ground. It would be on them in seconds if the tornado didn’t change direction. For a moment Ky thought fate was kind as the wind changed course and the twister circled away, but unexpectedly it jumped, becoming even closer.
Ky faced the orb. It was closing in on them, but then the white light vanished. The ash cloud remained, but it didn’t stop. The dark dust cloud raced toward them. “Stop!” Cobaaron bellowed out. Ky saw it, too. Visible from within the stirred ash were thousands of beautiful beasts like horses except their snouts weren’t as long as Ky knew them to be.
It dawned on her that these h
orses could be from one of the kings who had come to take revenge on them for his brother’s death. She scanned, looking for one of his brothers. She saw nothing, but more rows of horses appeared in the stampede. There was no king.
In seconds, the swift animals weaved between the warriors and women. One stopped in front of Cobaaron. The creature towered over him, its wings tucked. The beautiful beast was a winged horse. Cobaaron mounted the creature as if he had been waiting for one to approach him. In one fluid move he flung Ky up behind him. He tightened their firm grip, not letting her go.
Just then the winged horse sprang into the air with a single bound, and flapped its long wings. Ky nearly fell off, but Cobaaron expected it. He seized her securely, hugging her to his back. He kept her close so she couldn’t fall. Within seconds they were high off the ground. Huntra was still, and hid his head in the crook of Ky’s arm. He was shivering with fear, as Ky was, but they didn’t dare budge.
The wind tossed them around; it was stronger than ever. Ky saw warriors mounting countless horses, and kicking off the ground. Some warriors brought their women.
The tornado had grown rapidly as it ate ash and trees, and wasn’t far from them. It twirled and turned, and engulfed the warriors still close to the ground. They weren’t going to make it. The dust billowed and grew from the high winds. Then the tornado skipped back. The warriors, who had been swallow up by the twister, shot out of the cloud on the backs of the winged horses.
Soon they were high up in the sky, and far from the tornado. They survived the storm. The majestic creatures managed to save them from the twister, without a single loss of life.
Ky relaxed, with relief. She closed her eyes, thankful there was nothing to fear. It was over.
The air was thin and cold. The wind blew against them, slowly losing the scent of smoke, and Ky was grateful Cobaaron’s thick body was taking the brunt of the wind. Every time their winged horse flapped its lengthy wings they soared higher with a sudden jerk, but Cobaaron held tightly to both Ky and the beautiful beast.
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 31