Heirs of the Enemy
Page 25
* * * *
General Gregor barged into the king’s study. Everyone turned towards the door in alarm. Alex and Arik leaped to their feet and immediately drew their swords. Tanya and Jenneva sidestepped away from the others and cast shields surrounding the group.
“My apologies, King Arik,” panted the general, “but I think you need to know about this immediately.”
The group collectively relaxed with the warriors sheathing their swords.
“A knock would not have delayed your message for long,” sighed the king. “What is so urgent?”
“There is a mage within the city, a tall, young woman with long black hair. For some reason, animals are attacking her wherever she goes. She is using magic to kill the creatures, but others continue to attack. She is leaving a swath of animal bodies across the city.”
“The woman the fairies lost in Danver Shores?” asked Queen Tanya.
“Undoubtedly,” replied Alex. “I suspect that she is a demonkin.”
“But why are the animals attacking her?” asked the king.
“Niki,” answered Jenneva. “No one else could command such loyalty from the animal kingdom. For some reason, Niki believes that this woman killed Fredrik.”
“But she left the city,” frowned Prince Oscar.
“Evidently not,” replied Alex. “Where was the last sighting of this woman, General?”
“She has blazed a trail from the waterfront across the city towards the western gates. The last reports were from the area of the Sword and Shield.”
“Then we have little time left before she leaves the city,” Alex said with a sense of urgency. “Come, Jenneva.”
Alex turned and strode towards the door. The king and queen started to follow, but Jenneva held her hand up as she followed her husband out of the room.
“You two will remain here. It is you that she is after. We will be back soon.”
The two Knights of Alcea raced through the corridors of the Royal Palace and mounted unicorns in the courtyard. Without bothering to ride through the city streets, they took to the air and headed straight for the western gates. After determining that the demonkin had not yet passed through the gates, they turned and headed into the city. As soon as they passed through the gates of the old wall, Jenneva pointed upward. In the distance hundreds of birds were circling and diving.
“That has to be her. How do you want to do this?”
“You sit tight and wait here for her,” replied Alex. “Don’t let her get past you. I will circle around and come up behind her. When you see me, engage her in a magical battle, but use no spells that would require her to maintain a physical shield.”
“Be careful,” warned Jenneva. “These Claws of Alutar are far more dangerous than a K’san.”
Alex nodded and moved away. He rode down a cross street and then turned onto a street parallel to the main street that passed through the western gate. Before he had gone two blocks, the light drizzle turned into a downpour. Citizens scampered to get in out of the rain, and streams of water started flowing through the streets. As he turned towards the main street, he looked up to note the position of the birds, but he could see nothing through the rain.
* * * *
Torrents of rain fell from the sky, but Cavanor did not mind. The birds suddenly stopped attacking her, and she ducked into the closest inn and paid for a room. She went immediately to the room, stripped off her soaked clothing, and threw herself onto the bed. Despite her enormous powers, the constant poking at her shields had exhausted her. She sighed with relief as she tried to make sense out of what had happened. She did not think for a moment that the attack of the animals was a coincidence. They were attacking only her, and that meant that someone knew what she looked like, but why the feeble attack using birds and rats? Surely the heroes of the Mage could not expect to harm her in such a manner. And how did they know what she looked like? The only one who knew her true identity was Lycindor. Could he be petty enough to endanger her just so he would get the credit for killing the boy king? That didn’t make any sense.
Cavanor rose from the bed and dried off. She took each piece of clothing and magically dried it before returning to sit on the bed and continue her ruminations. Lycindor had no animal communication skills that she was aware of, so who was controlling the animals? She examined her implanted memories of the heroes of the Mage one by one and eliminated each of them from consideration. As she started to dwell upon the less notable associates of the Warrior King, she suddenly smiled.
“The redheaded child,” she said softly. “Niki.”
Although she was satisfied that she had found the culprit behind the attacks, she was still mystified. She had watched Niki the day that she attacked the carriage, and she was quite sure that Niki had never seen her. She had not even turned around like Fredrik had. That still left the mystery about how Niki had managed to discover what she looked like. Lycindor could still possibly be betraying her, and that was something that she would not stand for. Satisfied that she finally had a handle on what was happening, Cavanor rose and got dressed. She needed to get back to her room at the other inn to reclaim her belongings and her horse, but she was not going to trek across the city in the rain. Cloaking herself in an illusion, Cavanor left the room and headed for the common room to wait out the storm.
* * * *
Niki shuddered with pain as the rats exploded and flew through the air, their tiny bodies splattering on the walls of the shop, but she refused to relent. When the demonkin stepped outside the shop, Niki ordered the birds to attack, Hundreds of her loyal subjects hurled their bodies at Cavanor, but the demonkin had erected a physical shield. As each bird smashed into the invisible shield and fell to the ground, a jolt of pain pierced Niki’s body, but her grief for Fredrik knew no bounds. The Knight of Alcea called forth more birds to attack her husband’s murderer. Hundreds upon hundreds of birds answered their queen’s call, and Niki felt a small bit of satisfaction as she watched the demonkin run through the streets of Tagaret, trying to find some relief from the relentless attack.
As the trail of avian bodies littered the streets of the city, the deaths began to take a toll on the sorceress. Niki’s pale, freckled skin began to darken, and her bright flaming hair spouted a streak of shocking white across the center of her head. As she watched the death of hundreds of her loyal subjects, Niki’s mind began to swim, and her vision blurred. An intense pain ripped through her skull and then everything went black. Niki curled into a tight ball, trying to will the pain away. Then suddenly, the sky opened up and torrents of rain poured out of the sky. The cold rain pelted her body, the low wall of the rooftop no longer providing any protection.
Niki whimpered as her mind passed in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware that she was no longer commanding the animals to attack, and she could feel the rain drenching her clothes and skin, but the pain of the animal deaths lingered, although the sharpness of the stings was receding. Niki breathed deeply and rocked her body back and forth as if the sensation of movement would lessen her other feelings. Slowly the pain did recede, and the sorceress opened her eyes for the first time in hours. She shuddered from the damp chill invading her body as she looked around to get her bearings. For a moment the barren rooftop seemed alien to her, but she slowly remembered where she was and why she was there. She ignored the driving rain as she rose to her feet and gazed down at the city streets.
No one was moving about in the city below, and Niki sighed from the strain of the encounter with the demonkin. Her eyes scanned the streets for signs of the bodies of her subjects, but the streets were flowing gullies of water. Niki shook her head, sending water flying from her hair. She lowered herself down into a sitting position with her back to the wall and closed her eyes once more. She had lost the demonkin, but her friends would find the woman again. Niki sent out commands to search for the demonkin. While she waited for the first report, Niki let herself drift off to a more pleasant place in a more pleasant time.
“Uncle Boris! I knew you would come.”
“Come?” replied the Mage. “I have never been away, Niki.”
The sorceress frowned. “You let Fredrik die.”
“There is a time for everything, Niki. Fredrik defeated death three times, but even he could not forestall the inevitable.”
“But I don’t want him to die. You must bring him back to life. You must. I want him.”
Master Khatama frowned and sighed. “Fredrik can never return to the living as you knew him. While dark arts might restore him, he would never be the shining light that has warmed your life. The taint of Darkness would linger about him, and it would drag you under. That is not what you truly want.”
“It is,” insisted Niki. “He is my life. I want him back.”
“Do you?” challenged the Mage. “Look deep inside yourself, Niki. What you seek is already within you. Fredrik became a part of you the day you committed your lives to one another. The two of you are forever intertwined. That is why your pain is so severe, for part of you died with him, yet part of him lives on within you.”
“I don’t understand,” frowned Niki.
“You will,” smiled the Mage. “In time you will understand.”
A nagging chittering gnawed at Niki’s mind as she tried to focus on the words coming from Uncle Boris. The vision of Master Khatama wavered and then blinked out of existence, yet the chittering remained. Niki shook her head to clear the noise away, but it did not help. As her mind returned to reality, she recognized the noise as a call from her friends. Niki let her mind focus on the communication and soon she was staring at a naked woman. She recognized the demonkin immediately and hatred began to race through her veins. She recognized the room as belonging to an inn, but she could not tell which one. She watched as the demonkin got dressed and prepared to leave the room. Just before Cavanor exited the room, the image shimmered. Gone was the tall female, and in her place was a tall lanky male with a long braided tail of black hair. She watched as the demonkin walked down the stairs and settled down in the common room.
* * * *
Alexander Tork rode through the driving rain and met up with Jenneva under the protection of the western gate. He shook the water from his head and dismounted.
“I take it that you did not find her?” asked Jenneva.
“Once it started raining hard, I could not see a thing. Is there any chance that she got by you?”
“None,” Jenneva replied confidently. “Once the rain grew heavy, I retreated to this gate to make sure that the demonkin could not flee the city.”
“Is it possible that the rain bought the demonkin a reprieve from the animals?”
“Anything is possible,” shrugged Jenneva. “I do not entirely understand the nature and bounds of Niki’s magic. All we can do is wait for something to happen.”
“We could command the Red Swords to search for Niki,” suggested Alex.
“To what end?” frowned Jenneva. “Somehow Niki has managed to learn the identity of the demonkin, and it is clear to me that she is intent on revenge for Fredrik’s death. That is not something that I would deny her. In fact, I will help her in any way that I can. The Red Swords would just get in the way. Besides, they might actually do harm to our cause. I am sure that the demonkin would love to know who Niki is and where she is hiding. No, Alex, we should leave the Red Swords out of this.”
“I will yield to your reasoning,” stated Alex. “I just worry about Niki. I cannot envision her taking on a demonkin without a magical weapon.”
“She has a magical weapon,” retorted Jenneva, “and she is using it rather effectively. I doubt that either one of us could cause a demonkin to run through the streets of Tagaret in fear for her life. I may not understand Niki or her peculiar form of magic, but I respect both, as did the Mage. Have faith in her, Alex.”
“It is hard,” sighed Alex. “I still remember the early days when every spell Niki cast backfired in one way or another. I fear it may still happen.”
“That type of magic has never been Niki’s to control. She may be capable of casting fireballs and lightning strikes, but she has no control with that type of magic. With animals, it is completely different. You saw what she did during the Battle of Tagaret. She turned the yaki against the goblins, and she made the ogres manipulate the gates. There is power in her magic. Trust me.”
“I do trust you,” replied Alex as his eyes darted towards the darkness along the wall of the gates.
“The rain is starting to let up,” commented Jenneva.
Alex heard the noise again, and he whirled towards the wall, his stance ready to attack.
“What is it?” Jenneva asked in a whisper.
“I don’t know,” Alex replied. “I keep hearing noises behind me, but nothing is there.”
Jenneva cast a spell of illumination and dull glow emanated from the ring on her finger. Barely visible along the base of the wall was a long line of rats scurrying along in single file. The rats were heading deeper into the city, and they scattered when Jenneva’s light illuminated the area.
“Niki is marshalling her forces,” Alex declared.
“Marshalling?” echoed Jenneva. “I do not find it impressive. When she called to them in her sleep in the palace, the corridors were swarming with them. This appears to be just a trickle.”
“You misunderstand,” Alex smiled thinly. “She is not calling them to urgently attack. Look at them. They are not running. They remind me of Rangers getting into position before a major battle. They are slinking along in the shadows, trying to move unseen. If this is Niki’s doing, I am impressed. I would expect Fredrik to act in such a manner, but I never thought Niki understood the finer points of battle. She always seemed to be thinking of something else whenever we discussed strategies or tactics.”
“Are you suggesting that Niki is planning an ambush?”
“That is what it looks like to me. Unless you think rats have suddenly learned military tactics? We need to move along if we are to be part of the attack.”
Alex started moving towards his unicorn, but Jenneva hesitated as she digested what Alex had just said. When he turned around and stared at her questioningly, she smiled.
“Perhaps we should give Niki some latitude here. I am not suggesting that we leave the battle to Niki and her animals, but neither should we barge in and threaten the secrecy of her ambush. Let us travel casually so that we do not spook the demonkin.”
* * * *
Cavanor’s male appearance bothered her. She had delighted in her beautiful form, but she understood the need for concealment. She had to find Niki and kill her before the animals struck again. While the strikes upon her shields were tiny, they were so numerous that the strain of maintaining the shields was a distraction, a distraction that she could not afford if she was to strike down the boy king. She also could not afford to be the center of a spectacle in the city streets. Her anonymity was essential if she was to get within range of King Arik.
The demonkin listened to the sounds of the rain diminish. When only the sounds of water dripping off the roof remained, she finished her ale and rose to leave. She walked to the door and cracked it open, peering into the streets to see if any birds were circling overhead. She saw not a bird in the sky, and the streets of the city were fairly empty. Confident of her male disguise, Cavanor opened the door and stepped into the street. She turned eastward towards the inn where she had a room near the waterfront. The demonkin walked cautiously at first, but her confidence strengthened with every step. She was not prepared for what happened.
When Cavanor reached the first intersection, hundreds of dogs rushed out of the sid
e street. While her first reaction was to blast the beasts before they arrived, her instincts demanded that she erect a physical shield. No sooner was the shield erected when the first of the dogs leaped at her body. Incredibly, cats appeared out of a nearby alley and also attacked. While the dogs tried to leap for the demonkin’s throat, the cats were content to rake their claws over the invisible shield. Thousands of birds that had hidden themselves on the surrounding rooftops screeched downward to attack the shield. This time they did not blindly smash into the shields and end their lives. Instead they perched upon the shield and pecked at it.
Cavanor whirled around aimlessly, sending fireballs streaming off her fingertips, but the animals were too close to hit with any accuracy. While her fiery spells did kill some of the animals, there were far too many of them, and any opening caused by death was soon filled with more animals. The demonkin watched in amazement as thousands of rats suddenly surged into the street from the shadows. The small vermin actually pushed aside the cats in their eagerness to attack the demonkin’s shields.
Cavanor tried to break free of the animals and move towards the safety of a nearby doorway, but the pressure of the dogs battering against her shields allowed her no movement. As she felt her shield starting to weaken, she dropped the male façade and put all of her strength into maintaining the shield. Thousands upon thousands of tiny pokes rippled through the demonkin’s body as she stood helplessly in the middle of the street. Knowing that no shield could withstand such a constant bombardment, Cavanor raised both hands and began blasting away at the animals between her and the nearest door. Dogs burst into flames and rats exploded at her feet, but the constant pecking of the birds, the gnawing of the rats, the scratching of the cats, and the leaping of the dogs took its toll. The demonkin’s shield shattered.