"Let's go," Fredrik said determinedly as he mounted his unicorn. "I want this over with before I have a chance to think about it any more."
The other four mounted their unicorns, and Jenneva led the way upward as the unicorns took flight.
* * *
The castle of the Dark One sat atop Mount Kalas, its massive bulk hidden below the rock of the summit. The only visible portion of the castle was its tall cylindrical tower that jutted skyward from the very peak of the mountain. That tall tower had a small shelf-like ledge three-quarters of the way up, and it was to that shelf that the first two unicorns flew, being careful to remain on the northern side of the castle to avoid being seen. Podil leaped off her unicorn to the shelf. As Bin-lu followed her, both unicorns turned and dove sharply down the side of the mountain until they disappeared from sight.
Bin-lu stripped off his gloves and boots and looked questioningly at Podil. The elven mage smiled and nodded her head. Bin-lu applied his sticky hands to the stones of the tower and lowered himself past the shelf that Podil knelt on. Like a spider upon the wall of the tower, Bin-lu worked his way down to the first window opening in the side of the tower. Podil waved her hand almost imperceptibly as she set up a magical shield around Bin-lu.
Bin-lu's task was to use small jars of fire glue to incapacitate the leaders of the Black Devils, who were housed in the rooms of the tower. With a hard swallowing, Bin-lu tossed the first jar of fire glue through the window. He did not hesitate to measure the effectiveness of his throw, but instead he moved swiftly across the stone exterior of the tower to the next window opening. Podil crawled along the shelf above him, keeping the Lanoirian bathed in a magical shield. The pair of saboteurs intentionally avoided the southern face of the tower so that Sarac or others who might be watching the battle on the trail below would not inadvertently see them.
As Bin-lu reached as close as he cared to come to the southern part of the tower, he moved lower on the tower and reversed direction to access the next set of windows. Smoke began drifting out of the windows as the fires grew in intensity. Screams of the trapped Black Devils were quite loud to Bin-lu's ears, but the sounds diminished rapidly as he moved away from the windows. With any luck at all, Bin-lu figured that he would be able to toss fire glue into each and every window before anyone other than the trapped Black Devils would notice. Podil crawled along the shelf above him and kept him shielded from magical attacks. She smiled inwardly as she saw the eight unicorns dispense her friends on the small northern ledge outside the tower. She watched as the Knights of Alcea rushed the door to the castle.
King Arik was the first off his unicorn. He drew his sword and frowned slightly at how different it felt from the Sword of Heavens that he was used to. He pushed the thought from his mind as the others landed alongside him. The unicorns swiftly dove over the side of the mountain and disappeared as they had been instructed to do. The small band of Knights raced silently towards the tower door. Sheri and Natia knelt facing the door and nocked arrows to their bows. Alex reached out and threw the door open, moving swiftly away as he did so.
As the fairies had reported, there were two guards inside the door. The Alcean arrows flew straight and true, Sheri shooting the leftmost guard, and Natia the one on the right. As soon as the arrows had flown through the doorway, Tedi and Wylan dove through the opening with their staffs cradled in their arms. The two staff men rolled to their feet as King Arik and Alex burst through the doorway with their swords drawn.
A pair of Black Devils that had been in the vicinity of the tower door, reacted quickly to the intrusion. Their hands rose to cast spells at Tedi and Wylan as the staff men came to their feet. Alex and King Arik swiftly decapitated the Black Devils before they could cast their spells. Prince Garong and Prince Darok moved through the doorway and sliced off the heads of the two guards that had been skewered by the arrows.
"Good," nodded Alex. "Always remember to sever the heads. Most of these Black Devils will be revenants. Take no chances. Decapitate them all."
"We need to secure the stairway from the lower levels," urged the king as his eyes scanned the interior of the tower to get his bearings. "Let's be quick about it."
Sheri hurried into the tower, but Natia hesitated slightly outside the doorway. She stared back at the small ledge to the north expecting to see the mages arrive on their unicorns. Finally, Sheri pulled Natia through the doorway.
"Your bow is needed in here," Sheri whispered. "The mages will keep Fredrik safe."
Natia nodded with concern, but she quickly dismissed her fears and followed the others towards the center of the tower.
* * *
A Black Devil climbed the stairway from the library to the roof of the tower. He balanced the tray of refreshments carefully, lest he invite the scorn of the Dark One by making distracting noises. It was a task the servant had accomplished many times in the past. He was confident of delivering the refreshments without making a sound.
The servant stepped onto the roof with a smile of satisfaction on his lips. He started walking towards Lattimer and Sarac when he suddenly stopped abruptly. He dropped the tray to the roof as his arm reflexively shot upward, a fiery orb fleeing from his fingertips. The fireball slammed into the stone wall at the edge of the roof near Sarac. The Dark One whirled instantly, his arm rising to counter the attack.
Even as Lattimer shouted not to attack, Sarac's fireball slammed into the servant. The Black Devil's body burst into flames, his voice screaming in pain.
"Look," Lattimer pointed to the charred wall. "He was not trying to kill you. He was trying to protect you."
The Dark One turned and stared at the charred stone. His brow creased with fury as he glared at the burnt remains of the tiny fairy, Newt.
"A fairy?" he growled. "Here in my home? He was spying on me."
"Undoubtedly," nodded Lattimer. "I suspect the boy king knows all about our defenses by now."
"Worse," shouted Sarac. "Sound the alarm. The fighting below is a diversion."
"How can you be sure?" questioned Lattimer.
"Because if they were spying," spat the Dark One, "they would know that I am prepared to destroy the trail up the mountain. They will not attack from that direction," he added as he raced to the northern edge of the roof. "Sound the alarm now."
The Dark One saw the thin tendrils of smoke from below before he even reached the far edge of the roof. He cursed under his breath as he reached the edge and saw Podil on the shelf below him. He shouted as he cast a fireball downward towards the elven magician. The fireball missed Podil, but she overreacted to being discovered. As Podil started involuntarily, she lost her hold on the shelf. The elf's body silently tumbled away from the tower and disappeared into the abyss.
Bin-lu saw the flames overhead and Podil's body pass by on the way down the mountain. Without thinking of what might be inside the window he was about to throw the jar of fire glue through, Bin-lu hauled himself into the room.
Above on the roof, Sarac was storming around the edge, looking for other enemies. When he reached the northern edge, he saw five unicorns departing. He glared as he recognized Jenneva and saw the white-haired boy next to her.
"Jenneva and Fredrik are already here, along with some other rabble," snarled Sarac as Black Devils began pouring onto the roof. "Kill them all."
Sarac's first spells impacted upon magical shields surrounding Fredrik, and the Dark One howled in rage. "Kill them now!" he demanded.
Black Devils raced to the edge of the roof and began casting spells down at the five intruders. The shields glowed brilliantly as dozens of magical projectiles smashed into them. The ground of the small northern ledge splintered and cracked beneath the five mages, even as fireballs and icy orbs impacted the shields.
Jenneva looked skyward and cast spells at Sarac and his Black Devils. The edge of the roof splintered in a shower of stone particles and Jenneva readied another blast.
As the ledge beneath Tanya's feet crumbled, she swayed as she t
ried to avoid falling from the ledge. Her concentration focused on survival as her shields failed. Suddenly, an icy orb impacted her and her body flew backwards. Balamor managed to grab her body before it plummeted into the abyss. He dumped her body to the ground. Tanya cried in pain as she stared up at Jenneva and then her world went black.
Niki screamed when Tanya fell. She raced to Tanya and knelt by her side, forgetting the battle that raged about her. She bit her lip as she tried to think of a healing spell that could save Tanya, but her mind was disorganized and chaotic.
Without Niki's or Tanya's shields protecting him, Fredrik tried to race towards the tower. The Dark One cackled with glee as his spell hit the ground before Fredrik. Fredrik's body flew high into the air, the Sword of Heavens tumbling to the ground.
"Don't attack them, Jenneva" ordered Balamor. "Shield us instead."
As the Black Devils on the roof watched, the entire northern ledge cracked and tumbled into the abyss. The Black Devils roared in victory as Sarac turned and slapped Lattimer on the back.
"That takes care of the Ancient Prophecy," sneered Sarac. "Now to find the boy king and finish him off. I suspect that he is already inside the castle. Let's get down into the library and plan our attack to finish him once and for all."
Chapter 33
Reap What You Sow
A wave of chattering ran through the great horde of ogres and goblins massed on the winding mountain trail on the southern side of Mount Kalas. For a moment the attack on the Rangers and elves halted as the creatures milled about indecisively.
"There is smoke coming from the castle," Prince Elgorn pointed up the trail.
"The enemy has noticed the smoke as well," observed Prince Rigal. "They are beginning to retreat up the mountain. The real battle for this trail is about to begin. We cannot allow Sarac's creatures to reach the summit."
"Look," shouted David Jaynes as he ran to join the others. "Prince Tergota's dwarves are attacking the creatures now. We must move forward to help the dwarves. They will be overrun."
The elves gazed higher up the mountain and saw the dwarves emerging from hidden crevices. Arrows and throwing axes rained down on the Dark One's creatures. Large boulders began to thunder down the mountainside as the dwarves sprung their attack.
"Charge!" shouted Mitar Vidson as he urged the Rangers forward to engage the creatures.
Prince Rigal raised his bow high in the air and ordered the elves to advance towards the enemy. Thousands of elves and Rangers moved swiftly to the base of Mount Kalas, as ogres and goblins scrambled to climb the side of the mountain.
* * *
All sorts of magical projectiles flew up through the stairwell at the base of the tower atop Mount Kalas. Alex hurled another jar of fire glue through the opening in the floor. A puff of smoke drifted out of the stairwell as screams of agony shot upward. Several burning figures emerged from the stairwell, only to be met by a hail of arrows from the Knights of Alcea. The burning bodies tumbled back through the hole in the floor, bouncing back down the steps to the quarters below.
"I think those ones were already dead," scowled Wylan. "If we can't decapitate them, can they keep this up forever?"
"If so," replied Tedi, "they will win eventually. We will run out of fire glue or arrows sooner or later."
"The fire glue can burn through bones," Alex declared. "The fire will decapitate them. Just keep them down there long enough for Fredrik to reach Sarac. Once Sarac is killed, the spells binding them to the Dark One will be broken."
"Where is Fredrik?" frowned Natia as she sent another arrow into a flaming body trying to climb the stairs. "They should have arrived by now. I am worried about them."
"I am, too," nodded Sheri. "That alarm must mean that Sarac knows we are here. It is only a matter of time before we are attacked from above as well as below."
"Just keep away from the stairs so that their magical projectiles will not hit you," warned King Arik. "I will go check on our mages and see what the problem is."
"I am going with him," Alex said as the king left and headed towards the tower door. "The six of you stay here and keep those Black Devils contained to the lower levels."
* * *
Podil's body tumbled silently into the abyss. The vertical wall of the mountain flew by dizzyingly as she tried to establish a frame of reference to cast the transformation spell. She knew that her only chance of living was to transform into a dove, and hope that she would be able to fly away from the mountain before striking the ground. Transformation was a spell best cast when one was standing still. The senses were dulled during the casting and her sense of direction would be almost nonexistent. It was an extremely dangerous gambit, but Podil had no other choice available to her if she was to live through her fall.
Podil closed her eyes, the spinning glimpses of the mountain wall were only a distraction that she could do without. She summoned up her courage and began to cast the spell that would transform her into a dove. She had barely begun the spell when she felt the strong talons encircle her. The elf's eyes popped open instantly, the thought of the transformation spell slipping from her mind. Podil stared upward at the huge leathery body above her. Her mouth opened to scream, but no sounds came forth.
"What are you doing, Rylana?" came a voice of authority from somewhere that Podil could not see.
"It's just a treat, Wyka" the dragon squealed happily. "It practically jumped into my mouth."
"It is an elf," lectured the queen of the dragons. "We are not allowed to eat elves. Ogres and goblins we may have, but elves are not allowed. Let it go."
"No," screamed Podil as she realized what the dragon meant to do. "Do not let go of me."
"It doesn't want to be free," grinned Rylana. "As I said, it practically jumped into my mouth."
As Podil stared in horror, another body fell off the mountain. Rylana soared hungrily towards it, but a larger dragon swooped down and deftly snared the body in its talons.
"Look," Rylana grinned mischievously, "another gift. You can have that one, and I will keep the elf."
"A human," growled Wyka with obvious distaste. "If we were not sworn to Dragon Heart, this could be a nice snack."
Podil recognized Fredrik as Wyka snared him from the air. The human mage did not appear to be alive, or at least not conscious. Podil could not be sure, but hearing mention of Dragon Heart brought a smile to her lips, and a plan to her mind.
"Dragon Heart awaits us on the summit of this mountain," Podil announced loudly in a voice that carried an air of authority with it. "As you are sworn to him, as are the two of us, you will deliver us to him."
"Dragon Heart is here?" Rylana said nervously.
"I saw this white-topped human in Tagaret," affirmed Wyka. "I think the elf speaks the truth."
"What do we do?" asked Rylana. "Dragon Heart will think we meant to eat them?"
"He would be half right," scowled Wyka. "If I had not caught you when I did, I think you would have disobeyed Dragon Heart and eaten the elf. We will discuss your behavior later. For now, we will deliver these two to Dragon Heart."
Podil felt Rylana's talons tighten in nervousness. "Actually," she said, "I think Dragon Heart will be grateful that you saved the two of us. Please hurry."
* * *
"What happened?" Jenneva said. "All of a sudden they stopped attacking. Why did you tell me to shield instead of battling them?"
"If you had continued to attack them," explained Balamor, "then my illusion would have been seen for what it was."
"And what was your illusion?" asked Jenneva as she knelt next to Tanya on the northern ledge.
"The Black Devils saw this ledge fall into the abyss," answered Balamor. "As far as they are concerned, we are all dead."
"We might as well be," cried Niki. "Fredrik went over the edge, and it is all my fault. Just like the dream I had with Uncle Boris. I let Fredrik die."
Tanya opened her eyes and stared into Jenneva's face. Tears flowed from her eyes, and she sobbed u
ncontrollably.
"I am sorry, Mother," cried Tanya. "I got you killed as well."
"You are not dead," soothed Jenneva. "Where does it hurt?"
Tanya raised her head and peered around in confusion. She saw Niki crying, and Balamor smiling compassionately at her. In the distance she could see the tower of Sarac's castle. She sat upright, groaning with pain as she clutched her left shoulder.
"But my dream…," Tanya mumbled.
"Was just a dream," assured Jenneva as she cast a healing spell on Tanya's shoulder. "At least the part about you dying was."
Tanya glanced around and saw the Sword of Heavens on the ground not far away. She looked for Fredrik, but could not find him.
"He went over the edge," Balamor said quietly. "I could not save him."
"It was all my fault," shrieked Niki. "It was just like my dream. I killed him."
"You would never hurt Fredrik," soothed Tanya as she flexed her left arm and nodded to Jenneva in approval. "Whatever your dream was, we all know how much you loved Fredrik. You did not kill him."
"But I let my shield go down," sobbed Niki. "He would be alive if I had not let my shield down."
"I also was shielding him," Tanya reminded her as she moved close and put her arm around Niki. "You cannot blame yourself. You did all that you could do. Fredrik would not blame you, and nobody else will either."
"We have company," announced Balamor as Alex and King Arik exited the tower.
"Can they see us?" asked Jenneva.
"No," Balamor shook his head. "The illusion will make it appear like the ledge is no longer here."
"Drop the illusion," ordered Jenneva as she gazed up at the roof of the castle and did not see anyone looking down.
Balamor dropped the spell, and Alex and the king ran to the mages.
"What happened?" asked King Arik. "Where is Fredrik?"
"We were discovered," shrugged Balamor. "Fredrik went over the edge."
Amethyst of the Gods Page 40