by James Wisher
“It’s a dragon!” one of the warlords said.
What sort of dragon had a pot belly? This one looked like it was about to give birth to twins. Jen’s sword pulsed on her back, a faint vibration steady as a heartbeat.
“It’s Damien.” She spoke barely above a whisper and even then the words caught in her throat.
The archmage stepped out of the gatehouse and put a hand on Jen’s shoulder. “I believe you’re right. Ha! I knew that boy was too tough to die easily. What I don’t know is what he’s doing with that giant construct.”
A warlord screamed and went down under the claws of a crystal demon. Two of the other demons hammered at each other, every blow of their clenched fists sending bits of crystal flying.
“Everybody back!” Jen shouted. “Up on the wall.”
The warlords leapt up from the ground to the battlements while the archmage flew. They landed together and leaned over to watch the chaos. With no human enemies the crystal demons turned on each other, clawing and battering to little effect.
“They’ve gone berserk.” The archmage tapped her chin.
Jen would have given a great deal to know what she was thinking, but movement halfway across the yard drew her attention. Four crystal demons went flying revealing the female warlock in their midst. The woman’s clothes were torn and she bled from dozens of shallow cuts.
Jen grinned. Looked like her pets had turned on her. She didn’t seem inclined to give them another chance. The warlock shot into the air and flew towards the haunted lands before turning south.
“Should I go after her?” Marie-Bell had moved up beside Jen. She stared after the warlock, a look of distaste twisting her lips.
Much as Jen hated letting her flee, they couldn’t spare anyone to chase after her, especially one of their healers. “Let her go. We’ll hunt her down eventually, you can depend on that.”
Her gaze shifted. Damien was closer now. With her enhanced vision Jen could see him standing between the dragon’s wings, Lizzy gripped in his right hand, a pained grimace straining his features. Even from this distance he didn’t look well. A scruffy beard covered his face, and his black tunic hung in shreds. Heaven’s mercy, what had Connor done to him?
A cacophony of shrieks and roars drew Jen’s attention to the skies above the sorcerer’s barrier. The flying demons had noticed Damien approaching. Wings beat the air as they rushed to meet him.
“Can we send help?” Jen asked. “Even Damien can’t handle ten demons.”
The archmage shook her head. “The others are as depleted as I am.”
A quick look down the wall revealed the truth of it. Sorcerers were slumping where they stood. Several appeared to have passed out completely. No help there. If he turned and flew away, maybe Damien could outrun them. Even if the demons returned and finished everyone off, at least her brother would survive.
The dragon opened its mouth.
A blinding flash forced Jen to shield her eyes.
When she lowered her arm all the demons were gone and the archmage looked even paler than before.
“What happened?”
The archmage shook her head. “I’m not entirely certain myself.”
Damien’s dragon hung over the fortress. Every warlord and sorcerer had their gaze trained on him.
“Everybody out!” Damien’s voice was magnified to such a degree it almost hurt her ears.
“Are we just supposed to abandon the fortress?” Marie-Bell asked.
No one was waiting for orders or permission. Those sorcerers still able to conjured disks to transport those too exhausted or injured to walk. The warlords loaded wounded on to them before leaping off the wall.
An explosion from the keep was followed by John and Amanda flying out on a winged horse. They waved once then flew on.
“Let’s go,” the archmage said.
“Do you know what he’s going to do?” Jen asked, not taking her gaze off her brother.
“Judging from the power in that dragon it’ll be something dramatic and we won’t want to be anywhere nearby when it happens.”
Chapter 50
Jen ran a hundred yards, stopped, and turned back. The archmage, who had been flying beside her, paused and grabbed her arm. “Keep going.”
“Further than this?”
“All the way to the army and I may have them back away. I want at least a mile between us and the pass.”
“Heaven’s mercy.” Jen had to trust the archmage on this. Unlike the sorcerer she couldn’t sense the power Damien had gathered.
They ran on, Jen easily matching the archmage’s pace. The two of them were the last to reach the army. General Gauge stomped up to her, a fierce scowl on his face.
“What’s the meaning of this? Abandoning the battlefield is a grave offense.”
“The battle’s over, General.” The archmage turned her back on him to stare at the now-glowing dragon. “My apprentice is going to clean up the mess.”
“I thought he was dead.”
Jen wanted to slug the pompous jackass, but restrained herself. She narrowed her eyes, trying to spot Damien, but the glare was too much. The dragon glowed like a second sun.
“You’re not the only one to believe that,” the archmage said. “But he’s alive. Watch the pass. You’re about to see something…impressive.”
An explosion of light forced Jen to look away. The archmage was wrong. They weren’t going to see what Damien did after all.
They heard it however. It sounded like the end of the world, like an earthquake mixed with the loudest explosion she’d ever encountered. The noise seemed to go on forever though it couldn’t have been more than half a minute before silence fell.
“Heaven’s mercy.”
If not for her enhanced hearing Jen wouldn’t have made out the general’s whispered exclamation. She turned back and found the fortress gone along with the pass. Shattered stone filled the gap. The mountains on either side had been reduced to so much broken rock. Damien had crushed thousand-foot mountains and used the rubble to fill in the pass.
“How?” It was the only thing Jen could think to say.
“Why don’t we go ask him?” the archmage said.
Jen squinted and sure enough there was Damien, seated at the mouth of the pass, head hanging between his knees, Lizzy resting on the ground beside him. She looked closer. Were there seven others lying beside him?
At warlord speed it only took her ten seconds to skid to a stop beside her brother. Jen dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around him. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Everyone thought you were dead, but I didn’t believe it, not for a second.”
Damien stroked her hair. Jen let go and moved back so she could look at him. She winced.
“That bad, huh?”
“You’ve looked better.”
That was an understatement. The bones of his skull stood out under his waxy, sunken skin. His eyes were bloodshot and the skin around them black. His clothes and hands were caked in dirt. He looked like a miner that had just been rescued after a cave in.
John, Marie-Bell, and the archmage arrived and the two healers set about looking her brother over. He grimaced, but endured it. When they seemed satisfied that he wasn’t about to drop dead they moved on to the still figures beside him.
The archmage stood with hands on hips glaring down at him. “Where have you been? There was a war that needed fighting.”
“Apologies, Master. My host was reluctant to let me leave.” He looked over his shoulder then back. “I did chip in a bit at the end.”
She smiled and patted his head. “A bit. And your host?”
Damien dragged the tip of his thumb across his throat. “Consumed by the Horned One.”
He filled them in on his escape and the battle with Connor. Jen listened in mute awe. It was a miracle he made it out of that cavern alive, much less bring the others with him.
“I’m impressed you managed to contain that much corrupt energy,” th
e archmage said. “You certainly put it to good use.”
“Yeah. I feel a little bad about blowing up the fortress, but I didn’t have much control when I released all that power. That’s why I wanted you to get clear.”
The archmage stared out over the rubble filling the pass. “I sense no corruption beyond the background of the haunted lands.”
“I was pretty sure I got them all. I think I’m going to need some time off.”
“I can arrange that,” the archmage said.
“They’re all going to be fine.” John stood up from where he knelt beside Imogen. “Their soul force flows are messed up, but that will repair itself eventually. They each had hundreds of minor internal injuries that we healed and they’re in need of food and water, but all things considered everyone’s in good shape.”
The archmage finally smiled.
Chapter 51
After two days resting in the eastern army’s camp, Damien, Jen, John, the archmage, and six surviving members of the Crimson Legion, along with the still-unconscious sorcerers, headed for home. Marie-Bell decided to stay behind and try to recover any artifacts from the paladins’ fortress that survived the blast. Damien hadn’t wanted to discourage her, but he’d dumped the majority of the corrupt energy straight down on the fortress. If anything bigger than his fist remained of the place it would have surprised him.
The capital appeared on the horizon and Damien had rarely been so happy to see anything in his life. As they flew closer it became clear that repairs hadn’t stopped despite the battle in the east. It was somehow heartening to find things proceeding as normal. Most of the citizens probably had no idea the eastern army had even deployed. Uncle Andy would have wanted to keep it quiet to avoid a panic.
“What are you going to do first?” Jen asked. She was riding on a transport disk beside him.
“Honey roll. I swear if I never have to eat camp food again it would suit me fine, though after a week of nothing even stringy beef stew and stale bread has its appeal.”
“I should say so, considering the way you wolfed it down.”
When the group landed in the castle courtyard a crowd was waiting to greet them. Uncle Andy and the royal family, Lane, Salem, and the rest of the Legion crowded together on the courtyard. Damien glanced at his master and raised an eyebrow.
“I may have sent a message letting them know we were on our way back.”
Lane rushed over and hugged her mother. Salem ran to John, threw her arms around him, and they shared a kiss. When had that happened?
The thought barely formed before Karrie tackled him and started crying into his chest. Damien patted her back and looked over her head at a smiling Uncle Andy. The king winked at him and Damien smiled back. It was good to be home. Only Queen Audra looked less than thrilled. It seemed you couldn’t please everyone. Oh, well.
Karrie sniffed and looked up at him. “I thought you were dead and I’d never see you again. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. All things considered it could have been way worse.” He kissed her forehead. “Sorry I worried you.”
She wiped her eyes. “Stop being so nice. I’m trying to figure out how to stop loving you and you’re not making it easy.”
“Did I miss something?”
“I told Mom and Dad I was calling off the engagement. Forcing you to do it was just selfish. It’s not something I’m proud of. Maybe we can at least be friends?”
“Of course we can.” Damien glanced at the queen. He understood her bad mood now. Having him and Karrie get together had been as much her plan as her daughter’s. “You know when you’re queen, married or not, I’ll stand with you.”
“I know, and I appreciate it more than I can say.”
Lane left her mother’s side and walked over. She had on snug brown leggings that showed off her long legs to good effect.
“Can I borrow him a moment?” Lane asked.
Karrie moved away from him, gave her eyes one last wipe, and nodded. “I should say hi to the others anyway. You’ll join us for dinner?”
Damien nodded. He wouldn’t have missed one of the cook’s dinners for any amount of gold. Karrie smiled and bounced over to hug Jen.
He turned his attention to Lane. “Hi.”
Before he could say anything else she grabbed the front of his tunic and kissed him. When she stepped back his head was spinning. “I thought you were dead.”
“You and everyone else apparently. If that was my reward for not being dead I intend to keep it up.”
“Mom never doubted you were alive. She said you were too tough to die. As usual she was right. I don’t know what all you went through the past week, but if you need to talk look me up.”
After that brief conversation she walked back to her mother. Damien sighed and headed over to Uncle Andy and the queen.
Damien started to bow, but Uncle Andy grabbed him and pulled him into a bear hug. Damien patted his back, his gaze darting around to see if anyone noticed the breach of protocol. The king stepped back and slapped his shoulder. Audra managed a cool, grudging nod. Damien was happier than ever she wasn’t going to be his mother-in-law.
“Word is you ended another war. Not bad for a dead man. There’ll be a second Medal of Valor in it for you.” Uncle Andy grinned. “You gave us some sleepless nights. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too. Could we skip the medal? If anyone deserves it, it’s Jen and the survivors. I didn’t really do that much.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already spoken to your sister. She’ll be receiving one as well. And no, you can’t get out of it. The people need heroes, Damien. It helps make them feel safe. With your father gone that role passes to the two of you. It’s a big responsibility, but you and your sister were born for the job.”
Damien blew out a sigh. Clearly there was no dissuading him. “Karrie invited me for dinner. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely. If she hadn’t I would have.” Uncle Andy leaned in close so no one could hear. “Is it over?”
“There are a few loose ends to tie up, but yes, it’s basically over. There are still cultists to hunt down, but without Connor they’re not a great threat. I’ll look into finding them in a day or two.”
“I don’t think so,” Uncle Andy said. “You’ve earned a good, long rest. There are plenty of others that can round up the small fry. Let them handle it.”
Damien grinned and bowed. “As the king commands.”
Chapter 52
Two weeks had passed since they returned to the capital from the pass. The unconscious sorcerers all woke three days after their return, though they remained weak. To no one’s great surprise Imogen had pushed the hardest to get back on her feet. After watching her struggle for several days and enduring her glares whenever he tried to help, Damien had offered to take her and the others to the druid village to ask if they’d share access to the earth force pool under the temple. Considering Damien had saved their village he felt pretty good about his chances of convincing them. Only Imogen had agreed. She was so anxious to get better he suspected she would have agreed if he suggested bathing in the blood of a slaughtered cow.
So here he was, leaning against the dirt wall of the grotto, watching Imogen’s flawless figure drifting across the surface of the pool. She looked asleep, and as he recalled Leah had slept through most of her treatment as well. Damien yawned just thinking about it.
If you’d asked him the day before he would have denied the possibility, but now he was getting bored with watching. With any luck her healing wouldn’t take as long as his did.
If anything it should take longer. After all she was attached to the crystal for longer than you.
“You got me there.” Damien yawed again. “Any ideas on how we might make the time go by faster?”
I have a few thoughts.
Damien spent a thoroughly pleasant hour with Lizzy after which they drifted in the night sky together. It had been too long since he felt her wings around him. Damien had missed the softness of
her skin against his.
“You like her,” Lizzy said.
“Imogen? Yes, she’s vulnerable, never mind the tough exterior. I like to think when we’re together she’s more stable. Alone I fear she might do something self-destructive. That would be a shame. She’s a basically good person.”
“And beautiful.”
“The second most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He kissed the nape of her neck.
Lizzy let out a sigh that was almost a purr. “Don’t try and distract me. Will you marry her, start a family?”
Damien laughed then caught himself when he realized Lizzy was serious. “I doubt Imogen is the marrying kind and I’m no more interested in marrying her than I was Karrie. I had more of a working partnership in mind. We could go on missions together, keep each other company if we got lonely. That’s more a problem for her than me since I have you.”
“I think she has more than a working relationship in mind for the two of you.”
“Yeah, she’s made that pretty clear. I’m hoping if I explain the situation enough times she’ll accept it.”
“She tempts you,” Lizzy said. Though he couldn’t see her face the way they were situated he heard the smile in her voice. “More than any of the others this damaged woman calls to you. Why?”
Now it was his turn to sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe because I spend so much time blowing stuff up and killing things the thought of saving someone appeals to me.”
“What if she can’t be saved?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I have to try. Do you understand?”
“I understand. You remind me so much of my first love, sometimes it hurts. He had a big heart. Big enough to save a demon from her own corruption. Maybe you can save her the way he saved me. I’ll support you any way I can.” Lizzy cocked her head. “She’s awake.”
They kissed once more and Damien found himself back in his body just in time to watch Imogen sink under the surface of the pool then stand up in a spray of water, her hair flying back from her face. She looked like something out of legend.