Chaos Reigning: The Five Kingdoms Book 10

by Toby Neighbors

  When the wounds were completely healed Zollin passed out again, but his dreams were haunted by his father’s words. When he’d been stabbed Quinn had been behind him, whispering hateful words in his ear, but in his dreams Zollin was just a little boy and Quinn spit the words in his face. Over and over he felt the shame and pain of his father’s rejection. When he finally woke he was tired, hungry, weak, and emotionally drained, but relieved that the nightmares were finally over.

  “Zollin!” came Mansel’s worried voice. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Zollin said.

  “You can’t be fine,” Mansel said. “It’s hard to believe you’re alive.”

  “I am, and the wound is healed,” Zollin said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

  They were in a quiet glade, surrounded by weeping willow trees. A stream gurgled nearby and Ferno’s huge body was curled close to it. The large eyes of the dragon watched Mansel’s every move.

  “He doesn’t like me very much,” Mansel said. “Even though I saved your life.”

  “Ferno,” Zollin said. “Mansel is a good friend. You can trust him. What happened after my father stabbed me?”

  “I got to the roof after that,” Mansel said. “I stopped him from killing you, but you looked dead to me. Your dragon took care of Branock.”

  “He’s dead?” Zollin asked hopefully.

  “No, in fact he’s crowned himself king and turned the whole kingdom against you. But the coward ran from your dragon. I helped Ferno secure you on his back and then I fled the city.”

  “How did you get out of the castle?”

  “I have my ways. We’re about half a day’s ride from the city. I think we’re safe for now, but you should get moving if you’re up to it. It’s kind of hard to hide a dragon.”

  “I don’t know if Ferno can carry us both.”

  “He doesn’t need to,” Mansel said. “I’m going back.”

  “Aren’t they looking for you too?”

  “No, they have their hands full looking for the great wizard and his dragon. I’m hardly worth bothering with compared to you. Besides, I won’t leave Danella. I have to find a way to get her out of the city.”

  “Brianna’s sister?”

  “Yes, Branock is going to make her his wife. She doesn’t love him, though. But he’s had her locked up for weeks. I’ll die before I let that bastard hurt her.”

  “I’ll help you,” Zollin said.

  “No,” Mansel said, and there was an urgency in his voice. “You have to go. If you want to fight Branock then find a way to draw him out of the city. He won’t hesitate to hide among innocent women and children to shield himself. Now that he’s king he can do whatever he wants. He’s a cruel man and he has your father under some kind of spell.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We left the Great Valley together, but Quinn was bitten by one of the strange animals.”

  “What animals, the ones that attacked Brianna and me?”

  “Yes, they were ferocious and very intelligent. They attacked the town and killed a lot of people. They killed Nycol,” he said, his eyes filling with tears. “I hunted them down and killed them, all of them, even the cubs, but your father took a bite to the arm. We didn’t think much of it, the wound wasn’t bad. But he changed. His temper grew worse and worse. He was on the verge of out of control. I thought we might find you at the castle, but instead Branock took your father and threw me out. I don’t know what he’s done, but Quinn guards Branock now. They’re inseparable and Quinn’s strength with a sword is almost unmatched. He bested me once and it took all my skill to drive him off that rooftop.”

  “If my father is under Branock’s spell, I have to put a stop to it,” Zollin said.

  “But that’s just it, Zollin. If you fight Branock you’ll have to fight your father. You’ll have to kill him to kill Branock.”

  The truth behind Mansel’s words hit Zollin like a punch to the gut. He couldn’t kill his own father, but he didn’t know if he could free Quinn without risking his father’s life. The pain of his dilemma was overwhelming.

  “You can’t trust anything Quinn does or says, Zollin. He’s not the same man, not anymore.”

  The words that Quinn had said as he stabbed Zollin came rushing back, flooding the young wizard’s eyes with tears.

  “I don’t know what you should do,” Mansel said, but take some time to make sure you’re doing what is in your heart. And know that no matter what, I’ll always be here for you.”

  “You’re a good friend,” Zollin said. “Thank you.”

  “I’m just glad you’re alive. Are you really okay?”

  Zollin pulled off the blood-crusted shirt, exposing the smooth skin where his wound had been. There was dried blood all over the young wizard’s torso, but otherwise it was as if the wound had never occurred.

  “It’s still hard to believe,” Mansel said. “I guess you’re invincible now.”

  “No, I would have died if not for this,” Zollin said, touching the purple amulet. “It has healing powers. I don’t really understand it, but it restored my magical powers and gave me the strength to heal myself.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments. Zollin no longer had his pack or his cloak, having left both in Orrock when he went into the castle. He shivered as a cold wind whistled through the willow boughs.

  “Here, I brought some supplies,” Mansel said. “It isn’t much but there’s a wool tunic and a blanket in there. Some food, too. If I leave now I can get back to the city before dark.”

  “Do you have coin?”

  Mansel looked at his friend with a mischievous grin. “I make do.”

  “Here,” Zollin handed Mansel his entire pouch of gold. There were still a dozen gold crowns in the pouch, more money than Mansel would need to live on for a year.

  “I can’t take this,” Mansel said.

  “I can make more, remember,” Zollin said. “Take it. Get what you need, then get out of the city. I’m going to find Brianna, then I’m coming back to save my father. Branock will not rule in Yelsia. He will not destroy any more lives. Not if I can help it.”

  “I’ll meet you here. Once I get Danella out of danger, I’ll bring her here and wait for you to return.”

  The two young men stood and embraced. Zollin felt a love for Mansel that he would never have imagined when he was still apprenticing with his father in Tranaugh Shire.

  “Be careful,” Zollin said. “You’re the only family I’ve got left.”

  Zollin felt a pinch of fear, not for his father’s life, but at the thought that what Quinn said to Zollin as he tried to kill him was how his father really felt. Those thoughts, Zollin knew, would always plague him. Perhaps his father didn’t feel that way all the time, but in the darkest corners of Quinn’s mind, Zollin feared that his father really did despise him.

  “My horse had to be tied up a few hundred yards from here,” Mansel said with a grin. “Too afraid of being eaten by your dragon.”

  “Ferno isn’t my dragon,” Zollin said. “But I think dragons like horses.”

  The dragon growled, the green eyes flashing with what looked to Zollin like excitement.

  “Okay, now I really have to leave. I don’t fancy walking all the way back to Orrock.”

  “Be safe,” Zollin said.

  “You too.”

  Once Mansel had slipped through the hanging willow boughs, Zollin dropped to his knees. In the supplies that Mansel had left was a canteen of cold water and small bottle of strong spirits. Zollin drank almost half the canteen before sitting with his back against Ferno’s shoulder.

  “When the sun goes down you hunt,” Zollin said. “Tomorrow we are going to find Brianna. There’s nothing stopping us now.”

  Ferno growled a low, rumbling sound that made the young wizard smile. He felt safe with Ferno at his side. The cork on the bottle of spirits was sealed with wax. Zollin broke the seal and took a sip. It burned down his throat and spread through his stomach lik
e a wild fire, but Zollin was cold enough to appreciate the warmth. He took another sip, then searched the pack for food. There were three stale loaves of bread, a jar of roasted peppers, and some questionable-looking meat. Zollin ate it all, then drank some more of the strong spirits.

  His body relaxed and he felt stronger after eating, but his mind relived the events on the castle rooftop over and over again. No matter how hard he tried, Zollin couldn’t escape the fact that if things were going to get better in the Five Kingdoms he would have to play a larger role. He couldn’t simply be a wizard; he had to be the wizard of the Five Kingdoms, the driving force behind the restoration of order between the kingdoms.

  He had rejected offers to ascend to power in the past, thinking people only wanted him to rule because of his magical powers. That may have been the case with most people, but the truth was Zollin didn’t want the responsibly of a whole kingdom on his shoulders. Unfortunately, in his absence, those with evil intentions had taken control. And fleeing that responsibility had not been a benefit to Zollin or anyone else. He had longed for a normal life, for peace and an escape from the constant danger that had followed him once his powers emerged. But what he’d gotten was not peace, it was apathy, it was atrophy of his magical power and in his absence evil had taken root.

  Zollin had no way of knowing if Brianna would return to Yelsia with him, or if she would even agree with the way he felt about his future. But he knew he wanted to find her. He wanted her by his side, especially with the battles he knew lay in his path. He also needed to find Lorik. If Zollin was going to take control of Yelsia, he needed to know who his friends were, and more importantly who his enemies were.

  Night fell and Zollin built a fire once Ferno left the glade. Drinking the strong spirits made him feel warm and light. It also made him feel sleepy and soon he fell asleep, but when morning dawned his stomach felt twisted and his head ached horribly.

  “Too much of this,” Zollin said, tossing the half-empty bottle away. “How do people live like this?”

  Ferno growled at Zollin, but the young wizard slowly packed up his belongings and stepped out of the willow branches to refill his canteen. The world seemed shaky and strange. He had to stop every few steps and regain his balance. Inwardly he vowed never to touch strong spirits again. When he got to the stream he splashed water on his face, but his stomach was too upset to settle with the liquor still inside. After vomiting his stomach settled a little, but his head hurt even worse. He drank some of the cold, clear water and let his magic flow inside his body. There wasn’t much residual damage from the wound, but he could tell immediately that he was dehydrated.

  He bent down and drank some more water. His stomach quivered as the cold water hit his empty stomach and with the pounding in his head he almost didn’t notice the rumbling until it was too late. It was as if his ears were full of cotton and his mind was sluggish. He heard the noise, but it took a moment to even realize he was hearing something, and another moment to understand what it was. Then it hit him: galloping horses. There were horses running toward him and the only reason for that was to attack him. The king’s army had found him, and they were bent on revenge for a crime Zollin hadn’t committed. Still, he knew one thing for certain. He wouldn’t be able to convince them of his innocence before they killed him. He had to get away from the army and he had to go fast.

  Chapter 28

  Infiltrating the queen’s ranks was simple enough. The entire army, including the queen’s servants and guards, were focused on Lorik and the outcasts who stood like sentinels across the stream. Getting close enough to slay the queen wasn't difficult. Spector circled around the large group and then drifted silently overhead. He did his best to be invisible, but in the bright, unrelenting sunlight the best he could do was a gray smoke. There were no clouds in the sky, but there were clouds of dust and Spector used the dust to mask his approach.

  When Lorik fought the dragon, it was tempting to watch the battle. Everyone else craned their necks upward to watch what would happen, so Spector went to ground, spreading his ethereal body along the ground like a noxious fog. There were several guards behind Havina, but they stood nearly a dozen paces back. They may have been charged with protecting their queen, but it was obvious that Havina didn’t trust them.

  No one noticed the wraith’s approach. He hovered behind the queen, just inches off the ground, waiting for the call he knew would come. All around him Spector could feel the tension. There was a hope among the troops that Lorik would kill the dragon. Without fear of the dragon, they had no reason to obey the queen. They weren’t afraid to fight the outcasts, but if they didn’t have to, all the better.

  Anger poured from Havina, but not just at Lorik. Her hatred was for all men. She had been hurt by men from the time she was a young child. Abused and mistreated, passed from one cruel master to another. For a time she had hoped to escape such treatment, but then Offendorl, the evil wizard of the Torr, had taken her from the only home she’d ever loved and forced her to care for his frail body. In her mind, Lorik was just another man who had come to force her to do his bidding and she had no doubt what that would entail. She was beautiful on the outside, but inwardly she was broken and scarred. Spector could feel the hate radiating from her, it was an emotion he recognized and even shared. She was focused completely on forcing the dragon to kill Lorik, but the huge warrior was not easy to kill, not even for a dragon.

  When the creature dove for the ground Spector sensed his opportunity coming. He didn’t rise from the ground, but he gathered himself, like a big cat preparing to pounce. When the dragon landed he heard Lorik cry out.

  “Now, Spector! Kill her now!”

  With one fluid motion the wraith rose from the ground. There was commotion behind him and Havina whirled around to face her attacker, a dagger drawn and ready to strike, but Spector was too fast. His knife blade sliced across her neck so quickly that she didn’t even feel the wound, only the hot blood as it poured suddenly down her chest. She dropped the dagger, both hands rising to her ruined throat. Behind Spector there was shouting and he sensed the guards rushing forward.

  “You are free,” Spector whispered in Havina’s ear. “This is the release from pain you’ve been dreaming of.”

  He rose higher, snatching the golden crown from her head. He had to cut through her braided hair to free the crown, but his knife did the job and he rose quickly above the scene of the queen's murder. A well-thrown spear passed through his ethereal body and the wraith turned. There were six guards, two bending over their dying queen, the rest looking for a way to avenge her. A sudden, overwhelming hatred filled Spector, overcoming every other sense. His vision turned red and his fury drove him back down among the guards. One managed to swing his sword at the wraith’s body, but the blade passed through harmlessly. Spector was the ghost of death and the only part of him that was substantial were his knives. They were twin blades, identical to the ones he had carried in life, and he was deadly with them.

  One blade was stabbed into the nearest guard’s chest, then a split second later, the twin blade tore through another guard’s throat. One of the guards shouted in terror, trying to flee, but Spector’s knife found the guard’s back. The fourth guard didn’t even try to resist. Spector brought his knife up in a powerful uppercut that stabbed the blade through the guard’s chin and into his brain.

  The last two guards were dragging away the body of their fallen queen and Spector was about to chase them down in his fury, but Lorik called to him. The wraith hissed as he glided back past the line of soldiers. The hardened warriors broke ranks and fell back, away from the vengeful spirit.

  “Spector, bring me the crown!” Lorik shouted again.

  Every eye was on the wraith, the dragon, and Lorik, whose armor wasn’t even scratched from his battle with the huge beast. Spector sped to his friend and tossed the golden circlet to Lorik. The dragon growled menacingly, its huge head dropping low and the forked tongue flickering as smoke billowed from its n
ostrils.

  “You can trust me,” Lorik said, taking the crown in his hands.

  He crushed the circle of gold, mashing it together. Then he held it up by one end and blew on the glinting metal. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then the gold turned a dull white color. Lorik raised his free hand and thumped the crown. It shattered like glass dropped on a stone floor.

  Bartoom roared, lifting its mighty head and billowing fire to the heavens. Lorik held his hands up in a placating gesture. The dragon turned in a full circle, looking at the queen’s army who were so shocked they hadn’t moved. Then it growled at the outcasts, who looked at one another nervously. Finally it looked back at Lorik and Spector.

  “I know your pain,” Lorik said. “You are free now, you can do as you please, but before you go let me make you an offer.”

  The dragon didn’t speak, but it lowered its head close to Lorik. The teeth were as big as the warrior’s forearms and the forked tongue flickered like a snake tasting the air.

  “I can give you whatever you want. Food, security, anything. Think about my offer. Where else can you go that you won’t be hunted, threatened, or killed? In my empire you will have a place of honor. I will build you an aerie where you can rule the sky. I only ask that you help me fight the enemies that will come against us. Together we can rule the Five Kingdoms.”

  “Gold,” the dragon hissed, the word was half growl and difficult to understand.

  “You want gold, I’ll give you all the gold in Osla. I will send out my people to find all the gold you could ever want.”

  In a move that seemed almost like a bow, the dragon dipped its head, then it jumped into the air and flew away. Lorik watched it for a long moment.

  “Now what?” Spector said.