The King paced the wall several times before he spoke to one of his archers. “Dominick, here’s the plan, pass it on to the others. If everyone one of us kills fifteen hundred of them, then we should be all right.”
Dominick was a handsome fellow with blond hair. “Excellent strategy your majesty. Should I kill fifteen hundred on the left or the right side? Or should I just go down the middle and start killing?”
The king smiled as he touched Dominick’s shoulder. “I would say that that is up to you, but fourteen hundred and ninety-nine might not be enough. It must be fifteen hundred.”
Dominick was happy to be talking to the king. “I’ll keep that in mind sire. As long as they all refuse to hit back it shouldn’t be a problem. I might need a short rest after about five hundred.”
“I’m sure that they’ll wait while you rest.”
Dominick pointed, and the king was surprised to see even more troops moving toward them from several miles away, and it made him laugh. The king had a loud and robust laugh, which drifted all the way to the enemy. “Good god they’re bringing up more. They must be planning on killing us all several times. I guess dispatching that wizard hit him where it hurt.”
“We have them right where we want them, your Majesty.”
“I want them somewhere else if I could manage it.”
The king nodded and smiled and summoned to Adorok’s chamber where he found his old friend and wizard next to death. Darius knew this day was coming, but he didn’t think it would be today. People were funny like that, even when death was pounding at the door, there was hope that it wouldn’t be let in. There was nothing that could be done for the sorcerer; his breathing was labored, and his eyes fluttered as if he was in a deep dream. The king held his hand for a time, thinking that if he passed now, at least, he wouldn’t have to endure Leeander’s fall. He would soon know the answer to the mystery that plagued all humans; what was it that lay on the other side?
“We’ve been through a lot, my old friend. If it is your time to leave us, then don’t be afraid to go. We might all be seeing you sooner than you think.” A single tear rolled down the king’s left cheek. It was believed to be a bad omen to see the king cry.
King Darius left him for a time, pacing back and forth just outside his chamber door. Alone with his thoughts was unpleasant enough without having to deal with this. When the king returned to sit beside Adorok a while longer, there was an audible releasing of his last breath as he died. He placed his ear against his chest, and it was the saddest thing not hearing his heartbeat. “Farewell Adorok. You can be proud of how you lived.”
Darius locked the door and cried for his old friend. He held his hand one last time. Adorok’s body turned into a bright white light; the whiteness transformed to shimmering sparkles that turned to sand. All that now remained was his weight in sand on his bed. Now instead of holding his friend’s hand he held only sand, allowing it to fall slowly onto the bed.
King Darius took the deepest breath and slowly exhaled.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
ALEXA, STONE, AND THE OTHERS made their way back towards Leeander on their war horses with Quentin. Their steeds were permitted to walk as they were all tired including their animals. The horses, exposed to screams and battle cries since they were young, weren’t the least bit skittish. Stone’s horse was trained to kick the enemy in battle and had been responsible for three enemy kills and had a terrible scar on his left shoulder. He loved to see Stone show up knowing that he was going for a ride. Karma and Stone appeared to have been made for one another.
Their progress was slower than they would have liked but at least, they accomplished what none of them thought they would; they got their hands on a wizard that was willing to help. Now they were battling time and fatigue. As they approached the watch tower that they had encountered earlier, they were surprised to discover that it reoccupied. Stone thought it likely that a group that had been sent to resupply the tower had stayed as they sent word out by crow of its fate. Since nightfall was on their heels, they waited until sunset to make their way around the tower as they were in need of a rest. As the days turned into nights and back into days, they arrived at the border of Leeander only to discover that the entire kingdom surrounded by so many troops that it was unbelievable. They were now in a dream nightmare of epic proportions with no way out. Their homes weren’t too far, and yet they may as well have been on the moon. They circled the entire kingdom from a distance searching for a way in but couldn’t find one.
Stone shook his head as he stared at Alexa. “Impossible to fight our way through. I don’t know what to do.”
“Why aren’t they attacking?” Alexa was heartbroken at the sight of so many that were prepared to kill everyone she knew and loved. “What are they waiting for? And why so many?”
“It would seem that they are frightened of Adorok,” said Lance. “They are not aware of his weakened condition. It looks as though their entire army has assembled here. Perhaps Adorok has recovered sufficiently and has launched an impressive attack on them. Or more likely a warning of sorts.”
“Look at this!” Merrill was disappointed that all they had gone through was for naught. “We can’t even go home. Can you do something wizard? Can you fly us in?”
Quentin thought it time to come clean. Some wizards were infused with magic and would charge like the sun heating a rock and could cast spells without ingredients; others could cast some spells with raw elements and some without, but Quentin was strictly a wizard that worked with enchantments from roots and rare flowers. His supplies being exhausted was one of the main reasons that he had agreed to go with them. When the wizard explained it all to them, they felt like throwing him at the Yurrosy. He might be able to help them from inside but from here he was useless. Quentin was hoping to get his hands on some of Adorok’s supplies or to find some rare flowers near Leeander.
The sight was almost as bad as seeing Leeander in ruins. When hope is defeated so goes the soul, wishing to escape the unbearable. They didn’t know what to say or do. The odds were overwhelming and immediately depressing. Obed got off his horse and stood with his mouth open; the numbers were astonishing. Stone had thoughts of attacking which of course would bring their demise but because of Alexa he hesitated. He wasn’t about to run away so when the Yurrosy attacked Leeander he would attack them and go down fighting. It would, of course, be suicide, but there was nothing else. The thought of fleeing would never be entertained.
“We need a couple of dragons to incinerate those bastards!” Lance sat himself down in the dirt like a young boy defeated and dejected.
Alexa considered that if they attacked them at night, they might last just a little longer. Nevertheless, any hope they had had was now gone, replaced by the realization that all was lost.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
ZAK CARRIED MARCUS as they managed to get him out to where Ryxa and Ashkoor stared down at him. There was nothing like seeing a child injured. “Marcus, wake up! Marcus!” Zak shook him several times, but it was as if he was in the deepest sleep. Although he wasn’t dead, it was frightening to see him so immobile and lifeless, seeing the boy unconscious and unresponsive was almost more that Ryxa could take. A huge tear ran down her cheek and hit the ground like a bucket of water. Had a sleeping spell been cast upon him? What had happened to him in there? They should have never left him to wander alone.
Ryxa stared at them with investigating eyes. “What the hell happened?”
“He went into a side chamber,” said Zak. “He was like this when I found him, so I don’t know what happened.”
“Was he poisoned by the snake?”
Theon tried to shake the boy awake. “No. I don’t think so. Marcus! Marcus, can you hear me?”
Ryxa beheld Ashkoor with pleading eyes. “What do we do? Can you help him? Help him if you can help him!”
Ashkoor was surprised by her concern for the boy; he had never seen such between a human and a dragon. “I wouldn’t know wher
e to begin. I am unfamiliar with human physiology. If he’s asleep will he not simply wake up? Unless he is under some spell and if that’s the case perhaps he will sleep forever. But then again maybe he’ll only sleep for ten years. Ten years are nothing in the life of a dragon but for a boy, I don’t know. How long do these human things live? There are many ways to break a spell but none that I know of; I am unfamiliar in the ways of enchantment. Maybe he’ll just starve to death if he doesn’t wake up?”
Ashkoor was the opposite of help; he was infuriating. If there had been a cliff nearby, she would have thrown him off. Ryxa bit him hard on the knee and smiled as he limped around from the pain of it.
“Son-of-a! What did you do that for?”
“It was the only way to shut you up.” Ryxa listened to the boy’s heartbeat, and it sounded loud and regular; he wasn’t dead. She smelled him, and he did smell a little different but she had no idea what that meant if anything. Some dragons could deduce illness from the scent, but she wasn’t one of them. She nudged him in an attempt to wake him, but he wouldn’t budge. Titus, Theon, and Urban got out of the chamber, and they all stared down at the boy. Urban listened to his heartbeat and his breathing, both appeared normal. In fact, he looked comfortable. He pushed Marcus’s eyes open, and they both seemed distant as if he was in some faraway land and couldn’t be reached. He tapped the boy in the face in an attempt to awaken him, gently at first and then a little harder and then suddenly found himself flying across the ground as Ryxa had picked him up and threw him.
Urban got up and glared at the dragon. “What is wrong with you! I was only trying to wake him up! I wasn’t trying to hurt him!”
Ryxa went up to Urban and practically stuck her eyeball on him. “It’s not smart to upset a dragon that is already angry!”
“Ryxa, you might try using just a little more common sense. You should know I wasn’t attempting to hurt the boy.” Urban dusted himself off and had a bit of a sore side. He thought that’s what he gets for associating with a dragon.
“Good lord!” Titus shouted. “What the hell is that? Look!”
They all could see a lump moving around under his skin. They were horrified by it but what to do? It would move a few inches and then would stop and backtrack almost as if it was searching for something, it was doing something in there. Zak touched it and then quickly pulled his hand away. He had never seen something so creepy. The lump moved up into his face and then into the boy’s hairline. A discussion ensued about whether to cut it out of him or not. Ryxa had no opinion; she didn’t know if removing it, whatever the heck it was, would help the boy or make his condition worse. Taking it out might even kill him for all she knew. They were in unknown territory with this thing.
Titus rubbed his brow not knowing what to do. “If it’s magic I wouldn’t think that we could cut it out anyway. And it must be magic. What do you say dragon? You wanted to be the leader, so lead. Do we try to cut it out or not?”
Ryxa covered her eyes and shook her head, now realizing that being in command was not all positive; she just couldn’t decide. She didn’t want to be responsible if something went wrong. “I don’t know what to do. I guess we’ll leave it in him and hope that the magic is good. I, I, I don’t know. I can’t decide. Leave it there. No, cut it out! If you cut it out, it might save him. I changed my mind. Leave it.”
Theon scratched the side of his face. “If the magic was good would he be unconscious?”
“There are more idiosyncrasies to magic than grains of sand on the beach,” said Ashkoor.
It was then that the boy’s left foot twitched, and he moaned slightly.
Marcus found himself in a deciduous forest with different shades of red’s and yellow’s and gold. He was at the top of an old muddy path that led down into a valley, the trail twisted and turned as it angled down toward the deeper woods. The beauty of the autumn forest lay out in front of him as if painted by God himself. Each and every leaf had reached the color of perfection, although there were some that had fallen on the trail. Autumn’s masterpiece. The sky was a magnificent navy blue, with a single white cloud for contrast.
“Hello!” The boy stood puzzled, listening to the echo of a great spotted woodpecker on a nearby tree. Why was he in the forest and how on earth did he get here? Beside him to his right was the crystal clear water of a beautiful brook that was making the most pleasant sounds, a small waterfall added to its music as the water dropped almost a foot. Sun reflections made the water sparkle and dance. A merganser duck that was floating down observed him for a time.
Marcus looked to the other side of him and then to the rear; he was surprised to see that the path started right where he stood; behind him, there was no path. How odd? Since it was traffic that formed a trail how was it possible to have none behind him? Did people fall out of the sky and start walking right on the spot where he was standing? Perhaps he was dreaming? A gust of wind blew up rustling through the leaves as if it was some entity that wanted him to follow the trail; he could see the leaves beckoning all along the trail as they followed the wind until it disappeared down the hill. Where were Ryxa and the others?
“Ryxa!” Marcus listened, but there was no response.
The wind blew into his face as it completely changed directions; such a beautiful wood scent he had never before encountered. Although it smelled similar to wood, it was so pleasant that it made him hungry. It smelt a little like a pine tree but different. Was there a tinge of cinnamon? Adorok loved cinnamon. The wind tickled his face, and when he rubbed his forehead, he could smell the cinnamon off his fingers.
Now there were whispers in the air but what was it saying? “Who’s there?”
“This way,” whispered the wind. “Come this way.”
Marcus deduced that the trail was there for him to follow but should he follow it? There was obviously magic involved here but what kind? If he didn’t follow the path in what direction should he head? A beautiful barn owl with the whitest face appeared from behind Marcus and hovered in front of him. Instinctively, he held out his left arm, and it lit on his wrist; he reached out and petted the bird, and it felt so soft. Its dark sunken eyes looked at him with more intelligence than it should and then it took flight. It flew down the path and lit on a branch further down, of course, it wanted him to follow. Since Marcus had few options that he could see he decided to follow the path after all.
“All right I’m coming.”
“Who!” said the owl.
“Me that’s who,” said the boy.
The owl suddenly flew at him as if it was going to attack, but was blocking his path as a black bear with two cubs crossed the trail and kept on going. One cub had stopped to glance at him briefly. He thought it peculiar as it was not the time of year for bears to have cubs but if this was all a dream, he supposed it didn’t matter. Marcus continued to follow the bird until it stopped at the end of the path, and it looked left wanting him to do likewise. Marcus saw Adorok sitting on a log and ran to him and gave him a big hug.
“Marcus, I am so happy to see you! Sit down and we’ll talk.”
“Adorok, this is so strange? Is this a dream?”
The wizard now looked perfectly healthy. “Something like it. I see the transformation is almost complete.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are now a wizard Harry; I mean Marcus.”
“Who’s Harry?”
“An old friend.”
“Adorok, you look a lot better, but you’re still not making a lot of sense. You even look younger. I’m just a boy I’m not a wizard.”
Adorok interlaced his hands and cracked his knuckles. “Remember the sphere in the snake’s nest?”
Marcus pictured the sphere sinking into his hand. “Oh yeah, that was scary. It went in my hand, and I couldn’t stop it.”
Adorok sat closer to the boy. “I put the sphere in that nest. The snake, however, had been placed there by another sorcerer. That small ball is transforming you as we speak and you will d
evelop into a powerful wizard, even more powerful than I was.” He showed the boy a mischievous smile.
“What do you mean than you were? You’re still powerful. Hey, wait a minute. Does that mean we don’t have to keep searching for a wizard because now I’m a wizard?”
Adorok held out his index finger, and Marcus touched it with his index finger the tips of both of them lit up. “Exactly right my boy? I have a large scroll that is hidden that should help you on your way to becoming a formidable wizard. Seek it out if you make it back.”
“If I make it back? I don’t like the sound of that. Is Leeander okay?”
“Leeander is in big trouble, surrounded by more soldiers than you can count. And for the life of me, I can’t see the outcome. Almost as if someone is placing a hand in front of my eyes.” The wizard got closer to the boy and again gave him a small hug. “Here, put your hands together like this and say bird of prey.”
“Bird of prey?” A bald eagle grew out of his hands as he felt it getting heavier and heavier. When it was fully formed, it flew up onto a nearby branch. It was an amazing experience to behold. “Did I do that?”
“You did. And you will need to learn a lot to become an accomplished wizard. Now don’t be too scared but I have to do this to wake you up.”
“Do what?”
The eagle flew directly at the boy’s face with his talons.
Marcus awoke with a scream and scared the hell out of all of them.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
ZEDOCK AND ELLA were on the cliff by the tree Zedock had planted; they were waiting for the others to show up and see the little wizard. It was like having three little miracles running around. Ash, Cinder-Ella, and Firestorm were all eating apples and chasing each other around the tree having fun. Ash was so full that he couldn’t finish the last apple, and he let go with a sustained belch while his sisters laughed at him.
Knights of the Dragon (of Knights and Wizards Book 1) Page 21