Eternal Conflict - Book 7 (The Ruby Ring Saga)

by Chrissy Peebles

  The battle raged. Like a torrential downpour, a hail of arrows flew at us. I extended my force-field to protect as many of our knights as I could. My heart raced in my chest, but the men around me were brave and accustomed to fighting. They were tough and valiant, even in the face of grave danger, and I had to salute their extraordinary courage in risking their lives for our cause.

  Javelins and spears suddenly bounced off my force-field. Horses whinnied next to me as two knights barreled toward one another. Holding up shields and lances, they took aim. A cracking sound boomed in my ear as an enemy lance shattered against the opposite shield, sending the knight tumbling off his stallion. My knight then pounced on him like a lion on an antelope.

  Victor appeared next to me with a worried look on his face. I nodded and assured him that I was fine, and he knew better than to try to send me away. “By your side, always,” I said.

  He then touched my arm before quickly leaving to help one of our knights who had just been knocked down.

  I hurried over to help a group that was fighting approximately a dozen of our enemies. I lifted my hand, and their swords left their tight grasp and hovered above them. Their mouths fell agape when I snapped my fingers and their weapons instantly turned into dust. Without another word or threat, the mere mortals took off running.

  “Victor!” I shouted.

  He glanced over his shoulder.

  “It is time to put our air force in action,” I said.

  “Air force? We haven’t the likes of your silver birds here.”

  “Dragons.Where are they?”

  “Oh. They are on their way,” he said.

  “Good.” I moved over next to him and grabbed his arm. “Why aren’t the immortals’ powers immobilized by Jackson and his men, and us too?”

  “Ethano’s warlocks found a way around it.”

  “Damn him and his sneaky loopholes!”

  When I squinted into the distance, I saw large creatures approaching, flapping huge wings in broad strokes through the air. There had to be at least 100, and I was sure they would play a great role in our victory. The dragon armies quickly swarmed over the enemy, blasting them with fiery breath. Men screamed, ran, and took cover, knowing the supernatural guardians were not to be taken lightly.

  Suddenly, a man came at me, swinging an axe wildly. “Kill the witch!” he cried. “She summoned those flying demons here!”

  I flung him back with a bolt of lightning. When his immortal friend threw a few green energy balls at me, I deflected them the way Victor had taught me to do. But the guy didn’t give up. He then threw a yellow energy ball at me. Those packed more power. As it whizzed by, I caught it. His jaw dropped.

  “No immortal can do that!” he shouted.

  I smiled. “This one can.”

  I threw his own blazing ball right back at him. He crashed into a group of knights as his eyes fluttered shut.

  I lifted my hands, and a gust of wind flung him hundreds of feet away. His mortal buddy came at me again with his axe, but he was no match for my immortal speed.

  A wounded horse reared up and neighed. As its hooves were ready to crash down on a dying knight, I raced over and moved the knight just in time.

  “I’m dying,” the man said, holding his gut as blood gushed out.

  “Hang on,” I replied, then yelled for Liz. “Can you help him?” I asked with a frown when she ran over to us.

  “Definitely.”

  I shielded us as she touched the gaping hole in the man’s stomach. As yellow light emerged, his open wound closed before my very eyes. He screamed in delight, and I helped him to his feet. He hugged both of us, then darted off, bravely right back into battle.

  I ducked as energy volts and arrows sped past me. As I peered around, I realized I was being stalked. I grabbed a sword and shield as an immortal knight closed in on me. He looked so confident and poised. Little did he know that I was going to wipe that cocky smirk right off his face. He took me for an easy mark, but he couldn’t be more wrong. I braced for the attack and chopped my sword through the air at unnatural speed. Our blades met in the air with a great clash, glittering in the sunlight. I sidestepped, ducked, dodged, and slipped, just like my wise husband had taught me. I easily ducked another blow, deflecting it rather than blocking it, catching the full force with my shield. I had more power than the average immortal, so it was no trouble to wrestle the knight to the ground and use my sword to pin him, placing it against his neck. I waved my hand, and he fell unconscious. I could have killed him, but I didn’t have the heart to, even if he would have had no problem killing me.

  More arrows whizzed past, swords flashed, fires blazed from the dragons, and a horse reared up next to me. We could not stop fighting, even for a moment. The dragons spewed more fire and ice, and the enemy fought hard against their flying opponents. A barrage of arrows was launched at the giant reptiles, but the angry beasts retaliated by blowing out long streams of fire. Shrieking, others dived down through the clouds and pounced on their foes, ripping into them with sharp claws and teeth. In seconds, they demolished rows of knights. A wall of flames came at the enemy archers. Screaming in panic, they quickly fled to hide behind several large granite boulders. The rush of flames missed all of them, only scorching the grass, dirt, and rocks. Plumes of smoke billowed into the air, and fire sizzled in small patches in the grass.

  Hundreds of arrows filled the sky and fell like rain. I threw up my force-field to shield as many knights as I possibly could, and the arrows easily bounced off my barrier. The battle raged on, fierce and furious, as they came at us with their bows, maces, swords, and lances. We launched our own lethal storm of arrows right back at them, and of course our dragons joined in, blowing fire and incinerating countless knights, while ice dragons froze countless souls.

  One flying nightmare swooped down on the enemy, spewing fire so close to me that I felt the intensity of the heat on my face. Through the hazy smoke, I peered ahead of me and was horrified when I saw mortals shooting arrows at the fierce reptiles. I intervened and delivered a blast they’d never forget, sending most of them scurrying away like frightened field mice, into a patch of vegetation. Ethano’s immortals tried to deflect the fire by sending ice from their hands. White energy swirled in my hands, and I launched an assault against the immortals, hitting as many of them as I could with high-voltage energy.

  One of the men spotted what I was up to, and his horse bolted in my direction. He charged at me, thrusting a long lance in front of him. Clinging to it tightly, he was ready to strike me down with brute force. I went invisible on him, and he rode right past me. It was hard to stay in that state for very long though. Balls of swirling energy emerged from my hands, and I whipped them at the knight. He flew off the horse and slammed into a tree trunk, bark splintering everywhere.

  Another knight saw me and headed in my direction. He lifted his hand, sending a fire bolt after me. I blinked and concentrated to call up my force field, and the flames crashed against it. Feeling a bit vulnerable, I attempted to go invisible again, but it was a tricky power that I did not yet have completely figured out.

  Realizing that I was struggling, he smirked and proudly announced, “I’m the commander of the immortal army, and I will take you down.”

  I gazed at him. “You can try.”

  That remark drew another flurry of fire bolts that smashed into my impenetrable force-field.

  “That’s it,” I said. I then summoned all my energy and conjured up the biggest fireballs I could muster. Whipping my hand back, I threw them. They didn’t faze him and merely bounced off, as if he was made of titanium.

  Without warning, he suddenly pounced on me, sending me to the ground. “I am the strongest immortal there is,” he yelled, holding his boot firmly on my chest. “Your fire won’t work on me, baby immortal!” Then, with a wave of his hand, he paralyzed me.

  I needed to move, to run, but I couldn’t will my body to obey. His boot was on my stomach, and that concerned me because I w
as carrying little Sophia. Having no other choice, and unable to do anything but talk and scream, I called for Victor in my head, making a desperate plea for help.

  The knight’s face contorted in anger as he lifted a blade high in the air.

  No! This can’t be it! This can’t be how our lives will end! Damn this battle…and damn Ethano!

  Suddenly, it was as if everything morphed into slow motion. I could see horses rearing up and dirt exploding everywhere, knights fighting, swords clanging, and blood spilling all around me. Mustering all my strength, I struggled in his grasp as he pinned me to the ground. He was one of the strongest immortals I’d ever encountered, bettered only by Ethano himself.

  “You are too easy to kill, Majesty,” he said.

  “I might have been once, but not anymore.”

  “I promise you and Victor a very slow death.”

  “That is a promise you will not be able to keep!”

  “It won’t hurt…much.” He laughed, then spat some curses at me.

  Concentrating again, I focused on a lightning strike from the sky. Tapping into all that energy gave me a high like no other. Bolts of lightning struck him just as he went to plunge the sword deep into my neck, and I somehow found the strength to move and shoved him off of me. “Now who’s the most powerful immortal?”

  His eyes fluttered shut, and he lay motionless.

  “I’ll never be weak again,” I muttered to myself.

  “Sarah!” Victor called. “Are you well, luv?”

  “I’m fine. Just keep fighting.”

  “Our perimeter has been penetrated!” a knight yelled.

  Countless enemy troops had gotten past our defenses, so in a blur, Victor sped off to close the gap.

  Just as I moved to follow him, a knight grabbed my arm. “Helena is looking for you,” he said. “She said to meet her by the cliffs.”

  “Thank you. In the meantime, send a dozen knights to protect her.”

  “Yes, my Queen.”

  I would meet with Helena as soon as I could, but for the time being, I had more serious and pressing matters to tend to. A quick glance at the battlefield told me that Ethano had at least 100,000 more troops, triple our numbers, and our commander reported that he had more on the way. We had King Taggert and Jackson and the shape-shifters and dragons, but I was worried that it was still not enough.

  When I glanced up, a knight was standing there, with his crossbow pointed directly at my chest. That brought back some horrible memories of the time I’d been shot in the heart. This time, though, when he tried to shoot the arrow, I simply caught it with one hand and snapped it in half. He reached for another from his quiver, but I quickly grabbed them all and snapped them in two, like twigs, letting the sharp tips fall to the ground. He turned and ran, his eyes wide with horror, but I traced in front of him with inhuman speed, cutting him off in milliseconds.

  “How did you do that?” he asked. “Ethano put a spell on you.”

  “His silly spells don’t work on me. They’re useless against my new powers. Why don’t you be a darling and tell him that?” I then flung him from my sight so he could deliver the message.

  Another knight, one of ours, grabbed my arm. “Highness, Ethano’s numbers are too great. I fear we may fall.”

  “What do you suggest?” I asked.

  “Um…” he said, a bit stunned that I would ask advice from one so low in rank.

  “You are a warrior. Your opinion is of great value.”

  “I believe we should retreat, Highness…now.”

  I shook my head. “I’m afraid that is not an option. He will chase us down and pick us off.”

  “Your magic, the warriors you brought in from your world, and the guardians aren’t enough to combat the mighty numbers we’re facing. Ethano will slaughter us all anyway if we continue, yet Victor insists we keep fighting.”

  “My best advice is to listen to your king,” I said. “We mustn’t stop fighting.”

  His lips pressed into a grim line. “Then we shall die here together.”

  The situation did look bleak, and he was right in saying we were sorely outnumbered. Still, I believed we had a chance, and I was not ready to give up. I would fight till the bitter end, whether that end was ours or Ethano’s.

  Liz kicked a knight so hard that he flew over a group of fighting soldiers. She took a deep breath. “Things aren’t looking so good, sis,” she said.

  “We just have to fight harder.”

  “Ethano’s troops are surrounding us from all directions! He said he’ll spare our lives if we surrender.”

  “And you believe him? We can’t surrender. He’ll make me tell him where Alexander is, and then he’ll kill us anyway. He tried to frame Victor and me, to have us killed by Halldor’s people. I’m sure he’s in no bargaining mood now.”

  “A good queen would consider the lives of her knights. Too many good men are dying out here.”

  “We’ll figure something out. Victor is already working on a brilliant new strategy. I can sense it.”

  “No plan can outwit legions and legions of soldiers. They will take us down one by one, until nobody is left standing.”

  “What do you suggest then? We live on the run? Go back to our old world? No way! We have to stand our ground. If we keep fighting, we will come out victoriously.”

  “I don’t believe in giving up either, but damn it, Sarah! People’s lives are at stake!” She held up her hand as a barrage of flaming arrows came at us. They stopped a few feet from us, then dropped to the ground. “Fine. I’ll stay and fight, but that man of yours better come up with one heck of a plan!”

  “He will,” I said assuredly. “He always does.”

  The dragons spewed more fire and smoke. Concentrating, the enemy fought back, and blazing flames met streams of cold ice. They held it for a few long seconds, and then the ice encompassed the dragon. One dragon let out a bloodcurdling roar as the ice cracked and shattered. The creature attempted to fly away, but it suddenly veered off course, like a plane with a broken wing. I swallowed hard as it began to spiral out of control, barreling down toward us at tremendous speed.

  “Look out!” I shouted.

  The men scrambled as the large creature crashed to the ground like a nuclear bomb, sending up a large cloud of dust, its large claws raking the ground. It had a gaping wound on its neck, and one of its wings was mangled beyond repair. It lay motionless, then moaned as its eyes fluttered shut. I was quite intimidated to be so close, knowing the dragon could possibly scorch me into oblivion, even though it had been fighting for us just moments earlier. Sun glittered on its green scales. It was so beautiful, so magnificent, and it didn’t deserve to die because of us, called to fight a war that wasn’t its own.

  An arrow had penetrated its protective scales, and blood gushed out. I pulled the arrow out and spoke soothing words to comfort the dying dragon. When I noticed that other arrows had punctured it here and there, I gently pulled them out as well, hoping to relieve it from some of the poison. When the dragon’s gaze locked on me, I instinctively put up my force-field around me.

  “I’m going to help you,” I told the creature.

  When an enemy soldier came too close, the animal spewed plumes of smoke, making it very clear whose side it was on.

  Liz walked over and laid her hands on the dragon.

  “Can it be saved?” I asked.

  She shot me a glance. “Can you keep us shielded?”

  “Yeah.”

  She went to work, and a yellow light soon bathed the length of the wound. It didn’t take long for the dragon to suddenly scramble up. We backed away as it flew back into the sky with a burst of energy. It was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen, and I was so proud of my sister for saving the amazing creature.

  “You did it!” I said. “Thank you.”

  When an enemy soldier approached, Liz looked at me. “I’ve got this.” She then lifted her sword high and lunged at the knight, colliding her blade with his.
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  When one came at me, I reached for my sword. I swung. Our blades clanged. I kicked, then swung again. Fire crashed next to me, smoke billowed, dirt exploded, pebbles flew, and dust swirled as enemy immortals threw more fireballs toward me. I dropped the sword to use my powers instead, and red spheres emerged from my hands. I whipped them at my assailant, who flew backward. I threw an explosion of flames that spiraled through the air with a low roar, taking down dozens and dozens of knights. Even still, the infantry continued to advance. With their swords drawn, they suddenly charged us.

  Our knights put up a shield wall. A loud crash echoed in the air as spears smashed into their defenses. They quickly tore through our first row of soldiers, as if they were made of paper.

  “You’ll die for this!” Liz said, bolting toward them.

  I followed, and together, we threw a barrage of swarming flames against the knights who had just murdered our first line of soldiers. When I spotted their commander sitting on horseback with a smug look on his filthy, sweaty face, I decided to wipe it off. He was a good distance from me, but I knew I could reach him. Taking careful aim, I threw a fireball, faster than a Major League pitcher, and literally knocked him off his high horse. He scrambled behind a tree like a scared kid.

  Victor, Charles, and Jackson showed up and joined our fight, also consumed by anger over our fallen troops. Their elite soldiers in heavy armor came at us. We shot a hail of arrows at them, and a few hit their mark, knocking the enemy to the ground. I fought a few immortals myself, and Victor took on one of their leaders, who seemed extra strong. My brave husband thrust his sword with lightning-fast speed and took down the immortal in a few quick sweeps. We were way too powerful for the average immortal, and humans stood no chance whatsoever against us. Our only disadvantage was how outnumbered we were, but we were slowly remedying that problem by taking them down.