Forever Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 3)

by Brad Clark

  Conner had watched the attempt, knowing it was going to fail once the arrows started flying. This creature was simply not meant to be killed. A dangerous thought came to him. Maybe there was one last chance, but it would take a lot of luck and some good timing. It was actually a somewhat simple solution, usually reserved for small rabbits in the forest. But if it worked in the forest, maybe it could work here, too. He quickly explained his idea to Marik, who was obviously skeptical, but they were out of other options.

  With the catapult destroyed, the stone ogre left the front gate area and moved off down the street, smashing and stepping into any building that was in its way. While Marik ran to the closest blacksmith, Conner put the knights to work trying to herd the creature back towards the wall.

  Although their constant barrage of arrows and spears did no damage to the stone ogre, it got its attention. At first it tried to ignore the pesky little people, but they kept getting in its way of knocking down buildings. It growled at them, then screamed at them, but they were undeterred. Finally, it ran after them, chasing them through the street.

  It caught a slow one and picked it up and squeezed it until he could feel its blood on its hands. Then it shoved him into its mouth, crunching down on bone and metal.

  Seeing their fellow knight come to such a horrible demise, a handful of knights kept running away. Their threshold of survival instincts had finally been met and it was time to flee. But many stayed, scared and fearful of the creature, but knowing their duty to the kingdom was more important than their own safety.

  Marik returned on a cart pulled by a single horse. As soon as the horse saw the creature, it bucked and tried to run, but Marik pulled hard on the reigns to gain control. Conner, seeing the horse about to bolt, raced over to the cart and let the horse loose. It ran off, its footfalls on the street echoing through the city. Conner and Marik pulled the heavy chain from the back of the wagon, dragging it to an open area near the front gate.

  Conner had never set a snare trap so big, much less with a chain. But he had done it so many times, he was sure it would work even for such a large creature. Plus, it wasn’t intended to hold the creature, only to knock it off its feet.

  The end of the chain was wrapped many times around a large oak tree near the front gate. The snare loop was set on flat ground some distance away. Once Conner ensured that the trap was set, he drew his swords. Marik had insisted on being the bait, but Conner would not let him. Most importantly, Conner was much faster.

  The city had fallen silent so that the only sounds were from one ogre trying to smash down the wall and the other smashing its way down the street. With swords drawn, Conner walked down the street after the stone ogre. He glanced back where the knights were huddled behind buildings and trees. He looked for Elissa, but he did not see her. He hoped that she had finally gotten a hold of her senses and was someplace safe. Once this was all over, he was going to find a nice warm hearth to sit in front of until spring came. He was tired of running, tired of being cold, and tired fighting. But he had two more creatures to kill. And an army of Tarans.

  Forgetting about the future, Conner jogged towards the stone ogre. It was in the middle of collapsing a two-story stone inn. The top of its head was at the roofline and all he could see were arms and fists smashing into the building. He shouted at it, trying to gain its attention. But it kept working on destroying the building. The stone ogre was only fifty feet from him, but its back was to him. He picked up a large stone that had once been a part of the inn’s outer wall. He threw it as hard as he could and struck the creature on the back of the head. It let out a grunt and scratched at the spot where the stone hit. Conner picked up another rock and threw it. This one missed. A third rock was thrown, striking the head at the same spot as the first one.

  The stone ogre suddenly jumped around into a crouch and let out a loud roar, its sharp teeth, bloody with noble blood, exposed.

  Conner backed away, picking up another rock. He threw it and struck it right in the middle of the forehead. The stone ogre let out another roar and crouched once more, this time, springing to run. Conner turned and ran, the stone ogre in pursuit.

  There was much that went through his mind in the hundred yards that he had to run. First and foremost, was he really fast enough? The creature was closing in on him. He was sure that he could smell the scent of death right behind him, but he was not going to turn and look.

  He crossed over the chain loop with his chest heaving and his legs burning. He would not be able to keep up this pace much longer. But he only needed to stay out of its grasp long enough for the trap to be set.

  As soon as he left the chain loop, he could see that Marik sprung the trap, which meant that it was right behind him and about to catch him. He dug down deep into his strength, pumping his arms, and pushing his legs even harder.

  A glance back told him that he was in dire danger. He could see the creature put its arm out, reaching for him. But then the chain went taunt, yanking its caught leg back behind him. It had not understood what the chain was doing around its leg, so it had ignored it when the chain loop closed around its ankle. It let out a surprised cry as the chain held, pulling it to the ground.

  Conner did not hesitate, he came to a sliding stop and sprinted back to the head, which was right on the ground. He lifted the sword, aimed at the eye, and then pain exploded through his body.

  He was unsure exactly what was happening, only that he was tumbling across the ground. He had lost his swords and rolled over and over until he came to a stop almost a hundred feet away. His entire left side throbbed with incredible pain as he realized that the stone ogre hand had struck him as he approached. He tried to breath, put pain shot through his side.

  They both tried to get up at the same time. The stone ogre stumbled as the chain was still wrapped around its ankle and the tree. Conner was dazed and could not get to his feet. The world was blurry and he had a hard time focusing on the creature. But he knew that there would only be one more chance before the stone ogre would get free, so he had to act fast. He would just have to dodge the big fists of the creature this time. With a shake of his head to clear his mind, he stood.

  The stone ogre rolled onto its hind quarters and looked down at its leg where the chain was tightly wrapped. It grabbed onto the chain, and pulled at it, trying to figure out what it was and how to get it off its leg. With its back to him, Conner began limping as fast as he could. With each step, pain exploded through his body. He came across one of his swords and grabbed it off the ground. The other could not be found. Hopefully he would only need the one.

  The stone ogre gripped the chain that ran from his leg to the tree and pulled hard once, and then a second time. When it didn’t budge, it let out a loud roar and yanked with all its might. The base of the tree exploded in shards of wood as the chain came free. The end of the chain whipped back in its face, which caused it to let out another loud roar. It shook its head and then turned just as Conner was about to jump onto its back.

  From a sitting position, it twisted its body and swung its right hand, aiming directly at Conner as he was just steps away. He was prepared for the worst. He had already died once, why not a second time? But the fist did not reach him. The creature’s fist hit an invisible wall, which stopped its strike in mid-air. Also caught in mid-twist, the stone ogre lost its balance and toppled over, chest to the ground, legs splayed out behind it. It let loose with a shriek of anger. Or was it pain?

  Conner jumped at its head, which was just at ground level. The creature responded by baring its teeth. With its right arm now caught underneath him, its left arm was free and started on a trajectory straight for Conner. But because its lower body was twisted from falling off balance, it had no leverage and no force to strike as quickly as it needed to. With a precise strike, Conner plunged the sword directly into the creature’s eye, and it dropped dead instantly.

  Once the stone ogre’s head hit the ground in a thud, cheering erupted once again from the city. Co
nner, who landed on the creature’s back after it dropped dead, did not want to move. But he also did not want to be laying on top of the thing. He rolled off and was met by a celebration of knights and soldiers.

  Marik brought him into a big embrace, but Conner winced and said to him, “I am hurt. Bad. Let me sit down.”

  “What hurts?” Marik asked, helping him to the ground.

  “Side,” Conner replied with a painful gasp. “Head. Leg. Arm. It hit me hard.”

  “It almost hit you again, I don’t know what stopped it.”

  The sound of soft feet landing on the ground startled them. Glaerion kneeled next to Conner.

  “You?” Conner asked.

  The elf gave Conner a rare smile. “I don’t know why I keep saving you humans. I know I will regret it someday.”

  “You came back. I thought you were taking the Ark?”

  For the first time, Conner saw something strange in Glaerion’s eyes. It might have been fear.

  “I have bad news, and I have worse news.”

  “What?”

  “The Ark. I cannot find it. Captain Janari’s boat is at the bottom of the river and none of his sailors can be found alive. I saw some bodies in the river. Some elven, some centurion. But no sign of the captain or Hargon.”

  “Maybe Hargon got away.”

  “We can only hope so. But he will be pursued by his brother and he will be shown no mercy. It will only be a matter of time before the Ark of Life falls in the hands of Tarcious. And if Tarcious has it, then the Deceiver will have it.”

  “There’s more bad news?” Conner asked.

  They all felt and then heard the sound of thunderous running on the ground. It was as if a thousand horses were running right next to them. They could feel it getting stronger by the second.

  When the gate was struck, the entire city went silent. It was a crash so loud, even the soldiers manning the inside of the castle could hear it. The timbers of the gate cracked, but held. No one moved, waiting for the next sound. Even the stone ogre that had been knocking down the wall had stopped its work.

  Then there was more running, and the incredible force struck the gate once more. The old oak timbers that made up the door held, but only barely. Whatever struck their seemingly impervious gate would likely only need to strike the gate one more time before it fell.

  “That’s the bad news,” Glaerion said, looking at the gate. He grabbed Conner under the armpits and helped him to his feet. “We need to get out of the city.”

  “The queen,” Conner said.

  “If we don’t get out of the city now, we may never make it out alive,” Glaerion said. “The city is lost. There is no hope for it. We can’t be trapped inside. The centurions march upon the city and will soon ring it with soldiers ten deep and we will have no way of getting out.”

  Mark looked around, seeing his knights mustering for one last battle. “I need to get the knights ready for whatever is coming through that gate. We will defend the city to our last breath.”

  “You can stay and die,” Glaerion said. “But I need to get Conner out of the city and we need to find the Ark before it falls into Tarcious’ hands. He is no good for you anyway. His body is broken and he needs to heal.”

  “The queen,” Conner croaked out again.

  “Toknon vowed to protect her,” Marik said. “I am sure he has taken her someplace safe.”

  “I won’t leave without Elissa!” Conner said.

  Glaerion grabbed the front of Conner’s tunic and pulled him close. “There are things more important than friendship and love! The survival of the people of the world is more important, don’t you think! You cannot risk everyone else’s life just because you think you love someone.”

  Conner glared back at the elf. “Have you not ever loved anyone?”

  Glaerion started to respond, but he caught himself. “Love is an emotion that is no longer necessary to me.”

  Conner caught the change in his voice. It had lost its force and intensity. He did not believe the elf was telling the truth, but he did not challenge him.

  “Toknon will keep her safe,” Marik said.

  “He better,” Conner replied angrily.

  “We will need a horse,” Glaerion said. “He will not make it far on his feet.”

  Marik motioned for one of the knights to relinquish his mount. With some effort, they were able to get Conner up onto the back of the horse, even though it caused excruciating pain.

  For the third time, thunderous running came from outside the gate. Then the gate exploded into shards of wood. Five stone ogres, nearly twice the size of the original two, stumbled through the opening. They stopped just inside the gate, crouched low and did not move, as if they were waiting to be told what to do next. Behind them, the Taran army was marching towards the gate. The remaining smaller ogre appeared behind the five, looking like a child among adults.

  Their heads moved as they scanned the city, as if they were looking for something. The knights remained still in silent fear, knowing that there was little chance of defeating the creatures. But they had a duty to serve their kingdom and protect it.

  A silence fell over the city.

  Glaerion climbed atop the horse in front of Conner. The clip-clop of the horse’s hooves was the only sound that could be heard. The eyes of the stone ogres locked onto them, but they did not move. Glaerion casually directed the horse down the street, seemingly away from the gate. The only way they could get out of the city would be before the centurions arrived. It would be only a few more minutes until that happened. If the stone ogres continued to stand guard at the gate, they would have no opportunity to escape.

  Without warning, the stone ogres all let out a roar in unison and charged into the city. Glaerion kicked his horse into a full run, sneaking out the gate behind the ogres and before the centurions arrived. He kept the horse tight to the wall, heading south for the river.

  Conner glanced up to see a flight of crossbow bolts coming at them. But then he felt the familiar tingling of magic and the bolts simply bounced away from them. He tried to turn and look behind him to see what was happening in the city, but the gate was far behind them. There was no knowing what was truly happening, but it was clear that the knights would have no chance of surviving the day.

  The pounding of the horse running across the open field towards the river jarred every broken bone in his body. He clenched his teeth, trying to be strong and unafraid. But he was scared. Marik was likely facing his last battle. The queen was somewhere in the city, hopefully safe. But with six stone ogres wreaking havoc, there was likely no safe place in the city. And Hargon and the Ark were missing.

  For a fleeting moment, he wished that he had not survived the battle. The thought of living in a world controlled by Tarcious was a world that he would not want to live in.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “You are hurting me!” Elissa cried out. She tried to wiggle her way out Toknon’s grasp, but he was too strong.

  Toknon held her upper arm firmly and he wasn’t going to loosen it. “If you would stop fighting, then it wouldn’t hurt. The castle is going to be the safest place for you. The walls of the castle are much stronger than those that protect the city. We will be able to concentrate the defenses on a much smaller area. Trust me, you will be much safer there.”

  “I am the queen,” she snapped back at him. “You cannot treat me like this!”

  “It is for your own good.”

  While being led down the street, she turned back to see the heads of three of the large stone ogres above the tops of the buildings. They had no expression on their faces and they continued their demolition of the city’s buildings.

  Finally, she lost the strength to fight back. She fell into step with him, but she continued to argue, “Conner was right, we should get out of the city. The castle will not stop them.”

  Toknon let out a low growl of annoyance. When he had first seen Conner, he was certainly not what he expected. He had pictured
him to be a big, strong, burly knight-looking man. Not a lithe boy with barely any hair on his face. “The only safe place is the castle. There is an army outside the city, just waiting for us to leave.”

  Although she had stopped resisting, he did not release his grasp of her arm. But he did relax it enough for blood to flow back into her arm.

  They were not alone in their escape from the walls. Many others were with them, running away from the walls and towards any place they thought was safe. For most, it was the castle. So the street leading up to the castle was full and the closer they got to the castle, the more packed it was. In the panic and chaos of the moment, no one recognized Elissa as being the queen. She no longer looked the part as both her tunic and outer cloak were covered in blood. Her hair and face was dirty and matted as well. A close friend or one of the lords would have recognized her, but a regular person from the street did not. Not being recognized did have its downfall, though. As they pushed through the crowd, those around her gave them dirty looks or even dared to push them back. Fortunately, Toknon stood taller than most everyone and his size kept anyone from acting further.

  A block from the castle, the packed crowd forced them to a standstill.

  “What now?” Elissa asked.

  Toknon took the lead and pushed his way through the crowd, but ensuring one hand was still firmly grasping Elissa’s upper arm. But even he could not push all the way through. With the high castle walls in sight, they could absolutely go no further.

  Bowmen patrolled the top of the outer walls, their bows strung and arrows knocked and ready to fire. Their eyes, however, were staring down at the crowd below. There was some shouting and muttering about not being let into the castle, but for now, they were peaceful.

  Finally, Toknon pushed the man in front of him, which knocked two men to the ground. With as loud of a voice as he could muster, he shouted, “Make way for the queen!”