Leviathan's King (The Search for the Brights Book 3)

by Aaron Thomas

  Only about forty non-wielding soldiers still stood with him as they held shields and swords ready for the next attack. Gortus picked up a discarded shield and held his black blade in the other hand.

  He stepped up to the soldiers now looking about wildly, “To survive this next part you must all work quickly and efficiently. We will be death’s sword. We will be fear. We will be a nightmare come to life.”

  One of the men spoke up, “Tell us what to do, we will follow.”

  Gortus gave a small laugh. As if it would be that easy, he thought.

  “I need three columns. The two on the outside will put shields outboard for protection. The middle row will stab anything that lay on the ground as I pass. Keep up, or you will be left behind!” Gortus yelled.

  His command was met with sword slamming against shields as three columns were formed. Gortus walked down the middle and found the largest man. He grabbed him by the chest piece and pulled him to the front.

  Putting the man up front, he gave the command to march. The large, nervous man gave a couple glances backward trying to understand why he’d been put there.

  Gortus, pushing the man forward, explained, “If they know I’m here they will kill me and leave you all to fight the sea of wielders. All I need you to do is keep that shield up and step over anything that falls at your feet. I will do the rest.”

  What he said seemed to have an effect because the man began to walk forward willingly. Gortus took a deep breath and signaled to the archers to give one last volley and stop. As soon as the arrows finished their arch, his small troop would be alone.

  He heard the pinging of arrows on shields and pushed his man forward into a jog. The others followed, keeping in formation as best they could. Soon, Gortus felt the shield man tense and crash into a line of soldiers. It took only a moment before the large man started moving forward again. Just as the commander said, the enemy’s men were all wielders.

  Without being able to see Gortus their line broke and fell, giving way to his formation to stab and cut at will. Gortus ran up and down the line where he saw gaps to have the enemy soldiers fall in his presence. The Water Realm’s men answered back by dealing a quick death blow and leaving them behind. Parting the armies ranks was only part of the solution, soon he would need to enter the fray himself.

  Gortus heard the quake before he felt it. The familiar noise caused a trickle of panic to lace up his back.

  “To me!” He screamed, yanking his soldiers back into a tight circle.

  He gathered his men as close as he could into his body.

  “Shields!” He screamed, commanding them to put up their defenses.

  The magically weakened enemy didn’t have time to react to their own wielders and his soldier's speed. Ducking down, Gortus made the center of his half spherical shield wall. He listened to his men breathing hard as swords attempted to penetrate. It wasn’t long before the attacks fell silent and the ground itself began to moan.

  Where he stood, the ground remained steady, and so did the innermost ring of his men. The outside of his sphere and the Earth Realm soldiers beyond began being tossed into the air as the terrain heaved under their feet. Unaffected by the magic, the ground began to shift and slide. He did his best to hold the men upright and eventually the rumbling stopped.

  Gortus pushed aside the remaining shields and found a middle-aged man in a cloth robe slumping down on the battlefield. The wizard and worn himself out in his attempt to turn the tide of battle with an earthquake. Armored as he was, Gortus moved with tremendous speed as he removed the man’s head and left himself exposed amongst the enemy soldiers.

  The gap in combat only gave him a second to react. He ran amongst the surprised soldiers as they tried to jump out of the way. He noticed a difference in these men from the ones behind. Although they fled from his presence, they did not fall. They stood their ground looking back and forth at one another. He had cut through the wielders and found ones who had no imbuements.

  Standing in his fighting pose, his intimidating growls gave him a long enough time for whatever soldiers he had left to join him. They once again formed a shield wall, this time in a circle with him on the front side. The Earth Realm soldiers didn’t stay away for long. The new skirmish began, this fight being one he feared more than the last.

  Gortus switched fighting styles to one that was not so labor intensive. He fought by deflecting swords and spears instead of dodging. He dealt what damage he could but didn’t offer any weakness in his defense. The enemy soldiers were shuffling to the side so they could face the allies at his back. There was nothing for him to do but cut down the soldiers brave enough to face him.

  “Stay together!” Gortus shouted through pointed teeth. “Protect the shield wall and our allies will come!”

  He didn’t know if the statement was true, but he’d found men with hope fought harder than those with only fear in their heart. He fought on and adjusted the circle as he needed, keeping his men shoulder to shoulder and always pushing amongst the enemy to keep them from finding a weakness. They were surrounded and at half the number they started with, but they’d done their job by clearing the gate. If they continued long enough now, the gate and the city would be safe.

  The length of time in battle always seemed altered from reality and it was true now more than ever. Gortus maneuvered the circle of troops until he found the enemy separating, putting his small group of men behind the Earth Realms army.

  Gortus withdrew from the shield wall, cutting down a few of the soldiers facing him. The strikes put some distance between his men and theirs. Enough that he got an idea for helping the city.

  “Half of you heroes destroy those siege weapons,” Gortus ordered, finding his way back to the line of earth soldiers with a quarter of the men he started with.

  The large soldier he used as a shield grabbed a few others and disbanded from the group. The moment that he spared to look was his downfalling. He didn’t notice a man with a crossbow and the punishment was instant. Pain snaked up his left arm causing him to drop his shield as the metal bolt stuck out from his joint.

  As his knee met the ground, the remaining seven soldiers surrounded him. They yelled and screamed at the enemy but apparently the vision of him was what kept them at bay. He laughed through the pain. My time in Deuterium has left a mark on their minds.

  One of the soldiers pulled him upright and screamed, “We need you yet, Master Gortus.”

  Gortus screamed as the soldier ripped the metal from his shoulder and helped him stand. The dizziness gave way, and he focused his mind just as he had done as a small child. He’d been in worse pain when his father trained him, all he had to do was remind himself. Pushing through the pain in his arm he gripped his blade in two hands and squeezed through his men.

  He lifted his black blade in his right hand and pointing into the soldiers and screamed so they could hear him, “I want the Bowman!”

  Trying to maintain a straight face he watched as the man who landed the bolt in his shoulder began to run. The run was short as something impacted the ground throwing the man into the air and crashing amongst his friends. A loud thud followed by a spray of dirt and sent the remaining soldiers running in all directions. Through the firelight, he could see a man of average height and massive shoulders swinging a hammer on a chain; the stablemaster.

  Turning his neck making bones pop, he smiled, “Chase the ones that run, and stay away from that hammer.”

  **********

  Twilix’s power was beginning to wane as she and Ria did their best to protect Daniel from harm. Twice, Twilix failed and had to dodge the swinging chain and hammer to heal his wounds. In those moments, lying on the ground touching the man’s ankle, she saw the devastation that he was causing. No one was safe from his power.

  She no longer had a fear of the army breaching the city. She instead feared an inability to stop Daniel, whom she had chained to the weapon. Twilix and Ria both tried to reach his mind without success. Until he exp
ended his energy and lessened the magic’s hold on his mind he would be unable to hear their words.

  The fourth set of arrows were sent into the sky to rain death down on her and her allies. Although the attacks were a lot smaller in size, they took a lot of Twilix’s energy. Freezing water in the air around hundreds of arrow shafts, their range was cut by over half, sending projectiles back to their origin. She hoped they would have learned by now they were killing their own men. She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t like them dying because of her either.

  The longer the battle went on, the better that Ria and Daniel began to work together. They moved at a steady pace now, not stopping to embed his feet into the ground. He moved forward fast, walking to where he saw the most threat. Daniel attacked large groups of men until they split and ran or died in his wake. The soldiers were panicking and running in all directions from the stablemaster.

  “Ria, you need to slow down. There’s no reason for him to have to kill them all. Sooner or later Atmos will come to us,” Twilix yelled as she held out her hand to the wizard.

  Ria touched a single finger to Twilix’s hand and filled her with energy. She was glad to have the woman with her. If not, she would’ve collapsed a few times over.

  “I’m not aiding him anymore. He’s learned to use the earth to his advantage. He wields the hammer on his own, and that scares me!” Ria said, almost yelling.

  The hairs on the back of Twilix’s neck raised as she heard Ria say it with such fear. The army had parted so they could see the siege weapons. Daniel had worked his way through the army, shattering its ranks. Twilix looked back at the walls and could see the bridge and gates were clear. Daniel had broken the army.

  When she turned around, she watched as the stablemaster launched the hammer into the running soldiers. The force of the throw picked him off the ground and took him with it into another set of men to continue his devastation.

  Twilix picked up the hem of her skirt and started to race after him to catch up but caught sight of two men on horses galloping their way. The many fires on the battlefield sent light refracting from the horseman's armor. Bearing the symbol of the Earth Realm, their weapons took flame, putting light to their faces. King Atmos and Captain Lorusk rode to kill Daniel.

  “It’s Atmos!” She screamed to Ria. “We have to stop them!”

  Ria held out a hand and shook her head looking at the riders, “They don’t ride for him. They come for us. Ready yourself, Majesty.”

  Twilix took the open hand and felt Ria’s power plunge through her. Steeling herself, she clenched her fists as if it would come to blows. If it did, that’s one fight she would not survive. Ria had the strength and power of earth, she did not.

  She watched as Lorusk’s white horse turned away leaving Atmos to deal with them alone. Atmos slowed the horse to a jog until he was some twenty feet away. Atmos flexed, and the ground seemed to rumble everywhere except where Ria and Twilix stood side by side.

  “I was really hoping you would join me. You have always been standoffish of my tactics, Twilix,” Atmos said, “It will be a shame to waste such talent.”

  “This war has never been about you and me or my talent. It’s about making sure that you never have competition in this world. You came here out of fear, Atmos. Fear that you might have to leave it in peace!” Twilix said, standing as tall as she could.

  Atmos smiled, “I see you finally grew into all that beauty. Kilen is a lucky man.”

  “It’s not by luck that he has married me. He captured my heart because of the strength of his own. I fear it is something that you will never understand,” She retorted.

  Atmos smiled and turned his head a bit, looking around the battlefield.

  A struggling whisper escaped Ria’s mouth, “Majesty.”

  Twilix looked away from the king and at her friend. Ria’s brow was wrought with sweat, and her veins looked as they would burst like she was lifting a great weight. She took in a sharp breath, and the ground shuddered, causing Twilix to waver ever so slightly. She realized that Atmos was stalling to overcome Ria’s power.

  The two were locked in an unseen battle as Atmos slowly took control of the earth on the battlefield. He was overcoming her.

  Twilix lashed out forming a spear of ice and threw it at Atmos. A stone pillar rose from the ground and shattered the weapon. The pillar sunk and he began walking towards her as if Ria were not worth his effort.

  “I can’t,” Ria struggled to say as she held her ground. “Run!”

  Twilix, unsure of what to do, took a step back. Pulling the elements to her, she froze the ground and caused the rain to make music on Atmos’ armor in the form of small needle-like spears. Her skills in the other elements were never going to be enough to kill Atmos. She was hoping to distract him so Ria may gain the upper hand, but it didn’t seem to have the effect she wanted.

  She took another step back and another, looking about for anyone that would be able to help. The fight with Daniel raged some four hundred feet away. Twilix caught sight of Lorusk’s horse galloping towards him and away from Atmos.

  Terrified at the wicked look in Atmos’ eyes, she continued to back away until Atmos stood where she once had beside Ria. Ria, still locked in elemental combat, slowly rotated her head to face Atmos. He smiled and backhanded the old wizard. Ria crumpled to the ground with a spray of blood. The ground shuddered as if the earth groaned in sorrow for the woman.

  Twilix heard a grinding from behind but didn’t realize what it was until her body met stone. He had raised a wall to keep her from backing away anymore. Struck with fear, she lashed out sending spikes of ice from every direction. Atmos’ armor was like the stone, shattering the spears of ice as they touched him. It took only but a moment for him to reach out and grasp her throat.

  “It’s a pity that you thought you stood a chance,” Atmos spat as his fingers started to squeeze.

  Twilix felt the pressure at first, but Atmos was careful not to crush her neck. Instead, he blocked the air from reaching her lungs. She struggled feebly against the hand now lifted her from the ground. Finding nothing else in her vision, she found only his evil earth magic colored green eyes staring back at her. She tried to look away and found his yellowed teeth in a smile.

  At first, her lungs began to burn and then her vision began to fade. Twilix fought as hard as she could, kicking at him with her soft soled shoes. She felt a toe break against his armor. She was sure that as Atmos held her there, she would have to hear his quiet laughter as she sank into nothingness. As she lost all hope, the grip on her neck loosened and she took in a breath.

  Her toes met the ground, and she felt the hand pulling away. The laughing faded and gurgling replaced it. The blackened tunnel of her vision gave way to a man in black armor holding the handle of a black blade. Following the blade she found Atmos kneeling, dead, and held up by Gortus like a piece of meat on a kabob.

  Chapter 29 - Factions

  The walls of Basham was a sight Kilen wished he could have seen many days ago. Since he had heard the battle and war was over, he’d relaxed the pace at which he traveled. When word of Leviathan’s victory found its way to a town, the town’s people were more than willing to join his army. He had tripled his soldiers since the day he found out of Twilix’s success.

  He thought the success in recruiting must have been true everywhere since there were now two large campsites that stood just outside Basham’s new city walls. Although they were about the same in size, their appearance was very different. One looked to be in shambles and full of dirty and poor individuals. The other was full of clean and vibrantly dressed people.

  He took a deep breath knowing that soon he would be asked to take up the true responsibilities of the throne. All the studying and learning he could have done in the school house in Humbridge would not have prepared him for being a king. Kilen hoped Twilix would have a greater knowledge of the tasks that needed to be done. At least until he could come to fully trust the Wizard Council members
that would sit with him during discussions.

  Kilen watched the two camps trying to see a flag or banner of some sort that would tell him where they were from. He found none. Instead, he saw a familiar brown horse racing towards him on the path. His childhood friend was at a gallop with a cloud of dust rising behind him.

  “I thought you would be coming through Humbridge. I’ve been sitting on the road for nearly two days waiting for you,” Bowie said as he pulled his horse in beside Kilen.

  Kilen smiled and held his hand out to Bowie to shake. Where most would salute him now, Bowie simply rode next to him without permission. Kilen knew that Brent would have a problem with it, but it was something he would never make his friends do.

  “I really didn’t want to have to go through Humbridge. I’m already tired of people bowing down to me and acting like I’m their savior or something. I definitely didn’t want anyone from home doing it,” Kilen said, looking down.

  Bowie laughed a bit, “You better get used to it. I hear your seat on the throne is pretty secure now.”

  Kilen nodded and tried to change the subject, “Who are in the two camps?”

  “Ahh, yeah,” Bowie said and started to point at the camp that looked to be in poverty. “This group here is led by Mrs. Cathy Hill of the Earth Realm. They are a bunch of elementalists that made a deal with Atmos. They built the siege weapons for him in exchange for lands in the Wind Realm.”

  “But he doesn’t rule the Wind Realm, and never has,” Kilen replied in confusion.

  “Well, apparently he thought he would take control of it after he was finished with Leviathan,” Bowie said as he kept Charger from trying to run.

  “Do they think that I’ll keep Atmos’ end of the bargain?” Kilen asked while looking over the camp.