“That would be a friend of mine, Rjord,” Lady Arkyn said as she came leaping up the stairs with a bow in hand. “He said he would come after the snows had fallen. I didn’t realize it would take so long, but better late than never I suppose.”
“Well at least we have some help,” Lepkin said.
Lady Arkyn strung her bow and went to the wall. In the space of three seconds she fired seven arrows down at Marlin. They were the last arrows she had in her quiver, so the heroes on the wall watched them fly toward Marlin’s chest with not a little anticipation. Marlin must have seen them too, for he was able to evade them with his magic. The first three arrows disappeared as if they had never existed, and the last four were turned aside and fell to the ground.
Master Lepkin climbed to the edge of the wall prepared to leap over the side. “There is no more time. I must act now, or we will lose everything we have fought for.”
In that instant a great and powerful beam of golden light shot into the battlefield from the west. It burned through the skeletons, turning them to gray ash in the blink of an eye. The zombies it caught in its path fell to the ground dead. The heroes turned to see a young man running toward the battlefield. Behind him were several thousand men clad in golden armor and wielding great spears.
“Is that Erik?” Commander Nials asked.
Lepkin nodded. “That is the Champion of Truth,” he said.
The ray of golden light then expanded into a great wall. Crackling lightning blasted out each and every direction striking many people in both armies. Zombies and skeletons burst into flame, while the human soldiers of Fort Drake that were hit stood rigid and their skin took on a golden luster and their weapons shone brightly. The golden wall then morphed into a great dome, sliding itself over Fort Drake and protecting it from any further attack from Tu’luh. Aparen was knocked from the sky by a golden bolt of lightning, but he did not seem to be hurt or changed. Rather, the strike stunned him. He landed on the southern side of the fortress near one of the trenches the dwarves had dug
Tu’luh swooped down and cut Marlin’s body in half with his claws as he ripped the amulet from him. The great dragon stood on his hind legs and swallowed the amulet. Large, black spheres with silver lightning streaking across their surfaces appeared in each of Tu’luh’s giant hands. Again he was able to raise all of the fallen warriors from his army that had not been reduced to ash, but this time he could no longer capture new ones. He dropped down next to a squad of Fort Drake archers, but instead of bowing to his will, they continued to fire directly at the dragon. Tu’luh, enraged, slammed his tail down on top of the archers and crushed them into the earth, killing them instantly. He then sent his great fiery breath at the Fort, but it was stopped by the golden dome Erik had placed over it.
Tu’luh could see that he was beaten. Erik had only to point his sword and direct a golden beam to cut down the skeletons and zombies that Tu’luh raised from the dead. Each time Erik did so, those skeletons and zombies were not salvageable. Tu’luh was unable to raise them again. His army was diminishing faster than he could do anything about it, nor could the dragon attack Erik head on, for he was backed by the Golden Army, the very spearmen that had driven Tu’luh out of Hamath Valley. The Dragon blew fire in his rage at Erik, opening his mouth as wide as he could. In that instant, Aparen jumped up and into Tu’luh’s mouth. All that was seen from Lepkin on the wall was a strange shell of white and gold around Aparen as he dove through the flames and down the dragon’s throat. There must have been some other magic, for the dragon seemed not even to notice the intruder.
An instant later the Dragon roared terribly. He reared up on his hind legs again and clutched his stomach with his own talons, digging at his scales. The screeching talons against his metal scales made everyone nearby shake and tremble. Scales fell from his underbelly and blood burst out from a hole in his abdomen as Aparen clawed his way through the dragon in his shadowfiend form. In his hand was the yellow amulet.
*****
Erik saw the strange monster dive into Tu’luh’s mouth, he was confused. Still, he continued to run toward the fight sending bolt after bolt of the golden energy at the dragon and all of the enemies around Fort Drake. When the monster emerged from the dragon’s belly with the amulet in hand, Erik knew what he had to do. He commanded his soldiers with his mind to sprint as fast as they could. He led the charge heading straight toward Tu’luh.
Today everything was going to end.
The dragon clutched at the hole in his stomach. Blood oozed out onto the battlefield, but the dragon did not stop. To Erik’s dismay, the hole in the dragon’s stomach healed before his eyes. Scales didn’t regrow to cover the wound, but new skin developed over it and closed the hole that had been there. The dragon smashed down with its great left foreleg to crush the strange monster that had entered its throat. The monster was able to survive the attack by creating another shield around itself, but it was obvious that it was horribly injured. The magical shell creaked and cracked under the weight of Tu’luh’s attack. Erik called upon his power for the last time. He knew he was too young to change his form. He knew the dragon before him was far larger than anything he had ever seen before. The silvery beast was well over one hundred feet long from snout to tail. Erik was less than a third of that when he had used Lepkin’s dragon form, and when he had used the special crystal to find his own form, he was still only slightly larger.
Erik also knew that he had not been the original prophesied champion. Doubts tried to remind him that he had a pattern of not fitting in well and breaking the rules, it seemed. Erik was not going to give any room in his mind for doubts, though. He embraced himself, and everything that he was and yet could become. He leapt into the air, summoning every bit of strength he had. He threw the flaming sword end over end to distract Tu’luh while his power enveloped his body and changed him into his dragon form. His bones snapped and elongated, while his muscles thickened and grew. The heat of anger in his chest burned and morphed into a roiling fire that he prepared to spew out over his enemy. While he finished his transformation, the thousand spears below launched into the air as the Golden Army clashed with Tu’luh the Red. They fought well, keeping his attention focused on them while Erik changed. Tu’luh killed them by the scores without even leaving the ground. He cut them down with his claws. He bit them in half with his fangs. He crushed them with his tails and legs, and he bathed them in fire until they turned to ash. When he was finally able to launch into the air, Erik was already diving for his neck. The two collided with the sound of great boulders clashing together and shattering in the air. They fell to the ground and shook it so much that a large crevice opened up in the ground beneath them stretching all the way to the fortress and breaking the southeast corner of the wall. All of the remaining humans and dwarves on the outside of the fort rushed in for the attack. The Golden Army continued rushing in as well. They hacked and slashed at the great beast while he thrashed his tail and swiped at them with his claws. Erik scratched at Tu’luh’s underbelly, ripping open the hole that had healed already and then jamming his own claws up inside the beast.
Tu’luh reached around with his tail and smacked Erik’s body, but Erik did not relent. He dug his talons deeper into the hole, reaching inside for any organs he could find. Erik pulled, scratched, and tore at his enemy, weakening him with every second. The Golden Army closed in around them chopping and slashing at the scales on the beast. A silvery talon exploded through Erik’s left shoulder, nearly severing it from his body. Erik howled in pain, but he used his pain and channeled it into rage. The new rage he turned to strength as he pressed his taloned hand up into the hole and seized Tu’luh’s heart. He grabbed the beating organ and pressed each of his talons into it as he turned and ripped his right forearm down and out through the hole. The heart beat twice in Erik’s hand and then Tu’luh went limp.
Erik disengaged and tumbled backward to the ground in exhaustion and shock from the loss of blood in his arm. Without a thought
he reverted back to his human form. The massive hole in his left arm remained and he could not move. As numbness took over his body he craned his neck up and around to stare at the disfigured monster that now held the amulet. Before Erik’s eyes, the monster shifted forms to that of somebody he recognized. Whether it was from the loss of blood, or the frenzy of the battle, Erik wasn’t sure, but he could not remember who the familiar figure was exactly. The young man, bloodied and battered from the battle, smiled at Erik and stretched out his hand with the amulet in it. Neither had the strength to complete the transfer. The amulet fell between them and both of them lost consciousness as the Golden Army, or what was left of it, sprinted in around them to give help.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
When Erik opened his eyes again, he was in a well-appointed room. Tapestries and paintings hung over neatly organized bookshelves that lined the walls. The bed he was on was the softest he had ever felt. He tried to move, but a pain ripped through his body that originated from his left shoulder. He looked down see a large bandage covering most of his left arm and part of the left side of his chest. Jaleal was next to him.
“How did you get here so fast?” Erik asked “I thought you stayed behind with the Immortal Mystic so the spell would not affect you.”
“I did, but I left the palace four days after you did. I knew I had to stay far enough away so your spell wouldn’t catch me, but I wanted to be close enough to find you if you needed help.”
“It is a good thing he did,” Lepkin said from a chair on the other side of the room. “He was the only healer who could help you.”
“Where is Marlin?” Erik asked.
Lepkin stood on his feet walked over to Erik. He took Erik’s right hand in his hands and shook his head with a frown clearly painted across his face. “Marlin is dead. He died while trying to take the amulet.”
Tears filled Erik’s eyes and he looked to the wall.
“Leave us for a moment,” Lepkin said. Jaleal left the room. “Tu’luh is dead,” Lepkin said. “All that remains now is to destroy the amulet, and the two books.”
Erik nodded. “I know how to do that.”
“Can you also tell me, what happened to the men and dwarves who are outside Fort Drake when you arrived?”
Erik struggled to sit up and looked Lepkin in the eyes. “The Illumination is the opposite side of the scale. It is the light that banishes Tu’luh’s night. Unfortunately, it is essentially the same type of magic. It enslaves whoever it touches. So, in a way I have given the soldiers of Fort Drake a similar death. Except, Tu’luh would have made them corrupted with evil, the Illumination overpowers them with good.”
“So you are saying the only way to save the realm from slavery, is to enslave it with a different spell?” Lepkin asked.
“No. I am saying that it was necessary to use it on those close enough to Nagar’s secret that they would have been enslaved anyway. In this way I was able to keep them fighting for our side until I could stop Tu’luh from using his magic. However, to save the realm, I must destroy both spells. There will be no slavery. Though, I am afraid that those already under the Illumination will die once the spells have been destroyed.”
Master Lepkin moved to a desk and picked up a bundle wrapped in a black cloth. He turned and set the bundle next to Erik. “This is everything that is left.”
“Can you tell me, where is my sword? I threw it on the field during battle.”
Lepkin reached down to the floor and picked up the sword, placing it on the bed next to Erik. “After you lost consciousness, and the golden dome over the fort subsided, I retrieved the sword for you.”
“Master Lepkin, this is something I need to do on my own. Please go out of the room, and I will tell you when it is finished.”
The large warrior nodded his head and turned to leave the room. Erik watched until the door was closed and the latch was secured in place before he unwrapped the bundle. The two books were set one atop the other. The Illumination, which he had brought from the Immortal Mystic’s palace, rested on Nagar’s secret. Next to them was a yellow amulet with a golden chain. Erik placed the yellow amulet atop the Illumination. He then placed the bundle onto his lap.
Erik placed his hand over the amulet. He could feel the evil power emanating out from it. For a moment, he allowed himself to feel the fear and torment this curse caused. Then he called forth his own power, which was now augmented by the additional power he had been given at the palace before he left after he had passed the exalted test of Arophim. It was something very similar to what his grandfather, Allun Rha had used, but it was more pure, and it was stronger. Erik now held the power to destroy both spells.
He recalled the ancient runes that he was shown at the palace. He focused on them in his mind, but he did not speak them aloud. He let his mind’s focus course through his body until it streamed out from his right hand and into the objects on his lap. A red glow encompassed the books and the amulet. Waves of heat danced before him. Soon a white fire ignited within the ball of red and ate up the pages and the amulet. The flames did not destroy the artifacts however, it melted them together into one. Inside the glowing red globe a tempest of lightning and thunder erupted as both of the books and the amulet protested their destruction. They fought against him, trying to break his power and his concentration. Erik focused solely on the runes in his mind.
Within a few minutes the artifacts were melted together into one brick. It was not a solid object, but rather a gelatinous brick that waved and jiggled as the lightning continued within the red orb. Erik slid the brick and the red orb off of his lap and onto the bed.
He then took the flaming sword, holding it upside down as high as he could over the brick. He called to his mind a different rune, one that meant destruction or undoing, and he let that power course into the sword. The sword ignited as it always did when Erik took it in his hand, but this time the flame was black. He jammed the sword down into the brick. Lightning flashed out into the room singeing the walls and the bookshelves and even the ceiling. The sound of a strange, gasping scream was heard as the brick was pierced through. The black flame devoured the brick. The destruction of the artifacts not only drained Erik’s energy but also began to eat away at the Telarian steel. The very metal that protected it from dragon fire was now melting away. In the end, a great white flash exploded in the room knocking Erik back to the far wall and opening his wound again. He held in his hand only the hilt of the flaming sword he had used before, as the blade was now consumed and gone. He did not need to look outside to know that all those who had been under the Illumination’s control were now dead. The Golden Army, those who had been trapped as the slaves of Allun Rha since the battle of Hamath Valley, were now released from their prison and allowed to rest. Those who had been ensnared by the magic during this most recent battle at Fort Drake were also let go.
Erik fell asleep again.
He woke again shortly before dinner, with Lepkin and Lady Dimwater in his room. He looked to his shoulder and saw that he had new dressings on his wound. He then looked to his bed and saw that the mattress had been replaced and the hilt of his sword had been placed on the pillow next to him. He sat up and looked to master Lepkin, he wasn’t sure what to say. He felt at once a great wave of relief, but also a profound emptiness and confusion. Master Lepkin must have sensed this, for he spoke first.
“It is never easy for the warrior to return home after the war is done. It is not uncommon for someone in your place to lose themselves in the past, or to forget who they are in the present. Things that you have seen, and the things that you have done, are now a part of you forever whether you like it or not. Those friends and family members we have lost will also stay with you in memory.”
Erik nodded his head and shifted to sit up. “Where will you go?”
Lepkin arched an eyebrow. “Is it so obvious that I am leaving?”
Erik smiled. “I am the Champion of Truth, Master Lepkin. It is hard to hide your feelings from me now.�
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Lepkin smiled wide and put an arm around Lady Dimwater. “A son was born to us while you were away.” Erik’s eyes went wide in surprise. “We hid him away before this last battle. We are going to go and get him back now.”
“But you will not be coming back right away, will you?”
Lepkin shook his head. “No.”
“The orcs have been beaten,” Lady Dimwater said. “Not a single member of their army remains. Those who survived the battles against us at Ten Forts and Stonebrook were enslaved by Tu’luh. You destroyed the last of them with your army. I imagine there are still a few nobles who will scheme and try for the throne, but they will think twice before acting overtly.”
“So you both have finished your duty to the Middle Kingdom then,” Erik said. “I hope you both find peace.”
“The dragon is dead, Erik,” Lepkin said. “Your task is also finished. You destroyed the curse that threatened the Middle Kingdom. You also vanquished the king’s most dangerous foe. I should also tell you that I can now take my own dragon form at will without fear of what might happen. If I can do that, then I suspect some of the Ancients, or any other dragons that remain, might return someday soon.”
Master Lepkin and Lady Dimwater rose from their seats and moved toward Erik. They both smiled at him. Lady Dimwater bent down and kissed Erik’s forehead.
“I have a present for you before I leave,” Lady Dimwater said. “This is the spell I use to summon Silverfang. Where we go, I hope not to have need of him, but perhaps you can let him have some exercise from time to time.”
“I would be honored to have such a companion,” Erik said.
Master Lepkin bent in low and gave Erik a hug. “I am proud of you, as proud as if you were my own son.”
Return of the Dragon (The Dragon's Champion Book 6) Page 28