Legend of the Iron Flower Box Set (Books 1-4)

by Billy Wong

  "You don't like that?" Rose asked, surprised.

  "I want my love to think of herself as my peer, not my damn subject. A real match for me is what I need in a lady. That's why I love you so much. You've never acted like you thought yourself inferior to me."

  "Well, of course I'm not." Rose smiled, admiring his view of the ideal woman. Even if they weren't meant for each other, there needed to be more men like him for sure.

  Brandon nodded. "If anything, you're my better. Hmm... I'd never met a woman or man I would consider saying that to, until you came along. You're the best!"

  "You're not bad yourself." His outlook on life was refreshing, she had to admit. Even Finn had shown more attachment to traditional gender roles, and he might still were he human. She just wished the count didn't have to obsess over her so much!

  #

  They arrived at the cabin Loreen called home, where they were greeted by her twin brothers. Rose asked them to send for her, for she wished to avoid alerting Prince Wilner to their presence in his country if possible. Her heavily scarred one-armed friend soon arrived, the knots surprisingly brushed out of her usually tangled brown hair. Brandon looked a little queasy at the sight of a female warrior more visibly damaged than Rose, but Rose greeted her joyfully.

  "Loreen! How good it is to see you!"

  "What the?! Rose?" Her friend seemed shocked to see her, but shook it off and ran into her arms. "I've missed you. So who's your friend?"

  "Loreen, Count Brandon, former champion of Kayland's biggest fighting tournament. Before me, of course." Rose laughed at the blush she saw on his face. "Brandon, Loreen, who rescued me when I fell off a roof with a sword stuck through my chest after beating Prince Wilner. Gosh, it feels like such a long time ago."

  The newly introduced warriors shook hands and exchanged greetings. After a short respectful silence between them, Loreen spoke. "So you must have got my letter."

  Rose nodded. "What can we do to help?"

  "Maybe you could help me convince Prince Wilner to let me check it out. He says he doesn't have the resources to spare to send a squad up there."

  "I doubt he'd take kindly to my words."

  "No, but maybe he'd let me go with the two of you, if we do it alone without diverting more of his men. He may not like you, but he respects your strength. Everyone does."

  She shrugged. "I hope he won't try to kill me on sight, like last time."

  "He said you attacked him first."

  "Honest mistake!" Rose defended herself. "Nobody got hurt—badly, at least."

  Brandon rubbed his beard. "So you want the three of us to go after whatever's been destroying whole towns?"

  Though she kept her voice steady, Loreen couldn't hide the fear in her eyes as she said, "We're pretty good fighters. Besides, they were only small villages of a few dozen, and we can run if we find something we can't handle. Even if we don't solve the problem, any new insight would be of use, and might help convince Wilner to act."

  "Besides, there'll be four of us," Rose added. She hadn't forgotten about Finn, after all.

  "Eh... I've seen worse odds," Brandon conceded. "Fine, I'll come. I do have to protect Rose."

  Loreen stared questioningly at Rose, and she grinned. "Manly pride," she said in a disapproving tone.

  "What, it's not like you don't have it too," the count countered. "You think I could convince this Wilner to spar with me?"

  Loreen frowned. "He doesn't spar with Kaylanders," she warned. "He kills."

  A casual shrug accompanied his dismissive, "Oh well."

  #

  The tall, dark-haired and dark-garbed man on the throne stood, and his rise seemed to send a wave of fear sweeping across the room. Brandon wondered how Rose could've ever stood up to and beaten this terror of a prince, who demanded coldly of Loreen, "And you expect me to let you run off with my greatest enemy why?"

  The silent Rose looked somewhat cowed, to Brandon's surprise. It was hard to believe she'd sought out fights with Prince Wilner in the past, but he supposed that was one of the things he loved about the mighty woman—the fiercest of warriors in battle, she nonetheless remained a gentle soul in times of peace.

  It was Loreen who dared to answer the monarch, looking dead at his harsh face. "Because she's my friend, and a strong ally if you allow her to be. If you refuse to help your own nation's beleaguered peoples, let us, and I'm sure they'll like you better for it."

  Despite his hostility towards Rose, Wilner could see the chance to benefit himself. "So you're not going to stroke the fires of rebellion in my subjects, will you Rose?" he asked sardonically.

  She sounded sincere as she replied meekly, "I hadn't even considered that idea."

  "I wouldn't encourage anyone to push our land into a civil war," Loreen assured.

  A hint of mirth appearing in his icy eyes, Wilner sat back down on his huge throne and waved dismissively. "Fine. You can help me, Rose. Now get out of my sight."

  They hurried from the black castle, the guards again backing away warily from the big woman who had stormed the place two times in the past. "So that's how he gives his approval?" Brandon asked.

  "That's the way he did it," Loreen confirmed. "I suspect he let us go in part because he sees a possibility for Rose to die up north. But we'll make sure to disappoint him."

  "How cold is it there now?" Rose wondered nervously.

  Loreen's lips turned up in a teasing grin. "Very cold."

  "I'll keep you warm." Brandon smiled to imagine how he'd do it. "So where to first?"

  "The closest destroyed village is about fifty miles from here, and there's a couple of refugees staying at another town nearby," Loreen said. "We'll go to the ruins first, see what we can find, and then talk to them."

  At the destroyed settlement, they found huge triangular footprints which looked to be made by a single creature. But the tracks stopped suddenly, and Rose imagined the monster must have flown away, though there was no specific evidence of that. Finn tried to track the creature's scent, but it'd been gone too long. Talking to the refugees, it turned out to the group's disappointment that they had survived only because they'd been away from the village, and thus not seen anything. Feeling they'd gotten all they could here, they went on to the next destroyed town.

  #

  Derrick had read much about the faith of the Earth Mother since Rose left, and what he learned didn't mesh well with his experiences involving its followers. Apparently, the religion's teachings emphasized peaceful methods of bringing about change, a far cry from the murderous violence its supposed worshipers attempted against his friends. However, Graham had seemed to favor nonviolent means as well, before his disappearance at least. What had happened to change him? Likely the same thing that happened to the other creature which had appeared later, who turned out to also be a longtime devotee of the Earth Mother. But the views towards a religion of people outside it were not necessarily accurate, so Derrick decided to visit the temple of the Earth Mother in Gustrone in hopes of gaining more insight about its members.

  He made his way to a humble little building with walls of wooden planks, which he would not have recognized as a house of worship on sight. He found the door invitingly open, and walking inside stepped into the nondescript central prayer room. Not much caught his eye besides large windows that brightened the space with sun, and the small statue of a pregnant female figure on the back altar. There was no service going on, but a young woman wearing a shabby brown robe relaxed alone on one of the frontmost benches, and Derrick walked forward to sit next to her.

  "Hello. You pray here?"

  She regarded him with large green eyes and smiled. "Yes, I do. I'm Mare. You?"

  "Derrick. So what is this place about, anyhow?"

  Her bright voice showed gladness for his interest. "We give thanks here to the Earth Mother—to nature—for providing us with life, and all the things to live for. Everything we have comes from nature, in the end, and so do all other gods come from the Earth Mother
. In worshipping her, we honor all divinites, but above all the first and greatest of them. Our goddess is the queen of life, and that is what we treasure most—life. She teaches that we should learn to accept others, unless they threaten life, and cherish life in all its different forms. It's really great. You should join us for a prayer sometime."

  Derrick found the ideas she expressed rather appealing, and wondered how such love of life could be warped into the brutal disregard for it displayed by some in the Earth Mother's name. "What kind of acts would go against her teachings?"

  "Murder, hunting for sport, needless clearing of land—senseless killing of any kind, human or otherwise."

  It did seem Graham believed the study of magic destined to bring about much death, so Derrick asked, "What methods should be used to stop such acts?"

  "It is through communication that we should dissuade the misguided."

  Graham had tried talking, but later resorted to more violent means. Derrick knew the most recent attackers hadn't even tried to talk, their first act against Rose being an attempt on her life. Mare seemed honest in her belief of her faith being one of nonviolence, but he knew that any dogma could be twisted by fanaticism.

  He tried a different kind of question. "Does the Earth Mother ever come to her best followers to speak to them, or even give them power with personal blessings?"

  Mare looked suspicious, as if thinking he might be here for the selfish goal of gaining such benefits. "No, she does not favor the few with such divisive gifts. It is through our own work that we should succeed, and not divine favor."

  "She never rewards good supporters with gifts? What about Father Moore of Basilt? How much did he accomplish in the faith?" The monster Rose killed recently had once been called that, as a man.

  Now Mare's gaze grew downright angry. "Why speak of him? He is dead! What are you, a constable? I know nothing of his strange end. I've heard rumors he turned into a monster, but there is no chance our Mother did that to him! Such a distortion of his natural form would be no boon, and could only be a curse from some other source, wanted or not. And, he only recently became a priest. He was no leader among us."

  Derrick believed she was telling the truth as far as she knew. He sighed. He'd been hoping to get a lead, but Mare seemed completely in the dark. He tried three more questions. "What about Graham? Were his ideas different from others within the church, and have you seen him recently?"

  The girl swallowed, and Derrick figured he was on to something. "Graham? He was always different. An extremist, if you will. He believed the Earth Mother would come in physical form to return the world to a more natural state, something we never considered. He said the harder we worked in her name, the sooner she would reward us with her presence. Her angels of elemental power would appear to sweep away the world of artifice, and only the most devout would be allowed to live in the new paradise. He didn't think it would happen in his lifetime, though, as prophets usually don't. He never hoped to see it with his own eyes, but worked hard to preserve nature so later generations of faithful could reap that reward sooner. I haven't seen him for a long time, though. I know nothing else but rumor."

  Derrick frowned. Was the druid alive after all? "Thank you," he told Mare, and left the temple pondering the latest attacks. Had they been masterminded by Graham, or were they in fact the machinations of a goddess? And if the latter, how could he and his friends ever prevail against such power?

  Assuming such was not the case and Graham was responsible, however, he thought to travel to Resnick where the druid had resided to find out more about his activities and underlying agenda. Though Derrick had agreed to stay put before, the desire to seek useful knowledge tugged at him once more. He knew the center staff would likely be displeased by another unexpected holiday so soon, but Kenneth could head a team to substitute for him during the short time he was gone. The young man had sought leadership, and now he'd get more of it. Rose might worry if she knew where he went alone, but he wasn't a child. He resolved to leave tomorrow morning, though he did shake his head as he imagined the trouble he might—but hopefully wouldn't—get into.

  #

  Rose exhaled sharply with hands on her hips at the edge of the empty town, having arrived too late for Finn to track the scent of the latest attack which happened mere days ago. The dragon understood her frustration, as he shared it and then some. It annoyed him that Rose insisted he hide away from the rest of the group until called upon to sniff out monster odors, and he wished she'd just let him travel openly with them. They weren't even in Kayland, so why care if someone saw him? He doubted they'd be able to get any would-be dragonslayers on his tail in time for it to matter.

  But Rose insisted it was a bad thing to scare the locals, and that seeing him with his friends would make people more hesitant to share information. While Finn had to admit she had a point, he figured he could scare uncooperative folks into talking, which would at least appeal to him more than hiding. Besides, if the others hadn't needed to waste time picking him up, they might have gotten here in time to track the monster! Sigh... why was she so stubborn?

  It was hard though to stay angry at her, and Finn smiled as Rose spotted a human-sized hole in the roof of a house and mused, "You think our friend dropped its food?"

  If it did, and the person's still alive, they could probably give us some new info. Let's go check it out. Then he amended, You go check it out. I won't fit in there.

  He waited until Rose came out to tell him they'd found a survivor, and Finn lowered his head to look inside. A chunky middle-aged man sat on the floor, alive and conscious though he bore a makeshift splint on his left leg courtesy of Loreen. The man took one look at Finn, screamed, and began babbling about the "monster." It took several minutes for the humans to calm him down, assuring him this was a good monster. Finally, they asked him about the other monster which had attacked the settlement, and he described it in uninspiring detail.

  "Big, huge, uh... fat. Winged."

  "Really? Fat?" Loreen asked.

  "Yes, with a gut. And its skin was black like tar. No, more like rich topsoil."

  Remind you of something? Finn asked Rose and Brandon. Something that shot you up good, Rose?

  He immediately felt sorry when he saw his love hang her head at the bad memories he'd brought back—not of her injuries surely, but of Julie's death—but Brandon replied, "The biggest and toughest of the monsters!"

  "You think they're related?" Rose asked in a whisper.

  Both men nodded while Loreen stayed silent, having no idea what they were talking about. "Well, it could still just be a coincidence," Brandon suggested.

  "Not likely," Loreen said after they explained it to her. "But the fact this one can fly when the ones you fought couldn't, what does it mean?"

  Brandon shook his head. "It means this one's superior."

  Now Rose had a question. "Loreen, you said these attacks have been going on for months. How many months exactly?"

  "At least six."

  "It started before the fagre attacks began," Brandon realized. "Does that mean..?"

  Rose exhaled. "It means its appearance preceded theirs. I don't think we can make other assumptions yet. But there is a possibility this creature gave rise to the rest. That it's their mother."

  The suggestion that the monster they sought might be far older and more powerful than those they'd faced shook them all, even Loreen who had only been told of their destructive power. Maybe so, maybe not. But we'll need to find it before we know. He addressed the survivor. Did you see where it went after destroying the town?

  Making Finn lament his prison of a body as he paled with fright, the man shook his head. "N-no. I was in the house with a broken leg. Of course I couldn't see."

  Did you see where it came from, then?

  His voice trembled. "I think the people on the north side started screaming first. But it was such a mess, I couldn't really tell."

  "Further north?" Rose sighed. "Damn, I'm going to freeze."<
br />
  Loreen put a hand on her great shoulder. "No you're not. How far north could it be? Besides, if anyone freezes it's going to be me. I'm little." Indeed, the one-armed warrior was barely more than half Rose's weight, though the big woman was still smaller than Count Brandon, and much smaller, of course, than the dragon. But Loreen was a hardy woman well accustomed to the northern weather, and Finn suspected the rest of them would be feeling the effects of the cold sooner than her. She continued more seriously, "Let's get some heavier cloaks before we go any further. I doubt the monster would live too far from where it hunts, but who knows how cold its lair is?"

  "Should we really go north, when our friend here isn't even sure if that's where it came from?" Brandon asked.

  "Do we have any other leads?"

  "We could wait for another attack."

  "But how many towns will be destroyed, and lives lost, before we catch the beast that way?" Rose asked.

  Brandon shook his head. "That may be true, but we can't just go blindly in a direction that might even take us farther from it. Do we have any proof it actually flew that way?"

  I wouldn't even get to wear a cloak, Finn said offhand.

  "Fine," Loreen conceded, "it would be better if we had more evidence of where the monster went. But I'm not going to sit around and wait for it. Let's check out the area north of town." Leaving the injured man, she led the rest of them onward. They found nothing to support the man's theory, and after walking a short ways began to turn back.

  Then Rose asked reluctantly, "Is that brown thing blood up in that tree?"

  Indeed, there was a large patch of blood among the needles of a pine nearby, and looking closer they found a corpse buried in the snow beneath it. "Looks like it did go north," Brandon admitted. "Rather more sloppy than usual at this town, wasn't it?"

  Maybe somebody managed to hurt it, Finn said.

  Loreen smiled. "That would be nice. Let's hope you're right. So north we go?"

  "There's still the problem of how to find it," Brandon said. "'North' is a big place to search, don't you think?"