Heir to the Sundered Crown (The Sundered Crown Saga)

by Matthew Olney

  Anger surged through Luxon. He raised his hands at the assassin who now spun to focus on the boy and the girl.

  With a roar Luxon unleashed his fury, heat flowed through him until fire erupted from his palms engulfing the assassin and catching fire to the tapestries hanging above the stairway. Within moments the killers robes were aflame his skin blistering and vaporising, his blood boiling. It happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to scream.

  The stench of cooked meat almost made Alira vomit but her attention turned to the unconscious Nightblade.

  “Do what you can for him’ Luxon panted, his breathes shuddering out of him. His hair and clothes were steaming; Alira winced as she remembered that time on the road when she had used such magic. ‘There’s a medica back down the hallway and through the library. Ask for Hannah she will know what to do”

  Before she could ask him what he was going to do Luxon bolted up the stairs and towards the levitation platforms. Accadus would pay.

  *

  Luxon stepped onto the levitation pad bracing him-self. Within seconds a white light emanated from the floor and propelled him skyward. The feeling of weightlessness was disorienting, but he shrugged it off. Instead he focused on what he might find at the top of the tower. Accadus was too cocky, he didn’t understand how his old foe from Redbit had managed to infiltrate the city of the mages, it should have been impossible.

  He glanced upwards. A sense of panic coursed through him as the ceiling rapidly approached. He always hated the levitation pads, always at the back of his mind was the possibility that they could malfunction and leave him as just a red stain on the crystal ceilings surface.

  With relief his ascent slowed until he stopped completely to float in midair. He stepped forward onto a solid platform which led into the Arch Chamber, the council room of the mages of Delfinnia.

  Being just a lowly apprentice he had never been allowed this high in the tower. Ahead of him was an imposing bluish crystalline door. Angry voices were coming from the other side.

  Luxon dashed towards it, slowing as he got within earshot of those in the chamber.

  “The other claimants will not stand for this you do realise. Assaulting the mages cannot be ignored; they will not accept you coercing us into using our power for your gain” the calm tones of Thanos drifted through the crack in the doorway. Luxon edged closer until he could peek inside the chamber.

  Stood in a semi circle were Accadus, a number of Retbit knights and a short dumpy man with an angry face. The short man wore ornately decorated armour painted with the red birds of Retbit. In his right-hand was a long sword which he pointed menacingly at the other occupants in the room.

  Opposing them stood the masters of Caldaria. Thanos, tall and statesman like stood in the middle. At his right-hand side was Master Ri’ges, on the other Master Dufran. The other masters stood behind those three their expressions a mixture of anger and confusion.

  ‘Why don’t they just strike Accadus and his men down?’Luxon thought, by all rights the mages should have had no trouble driving off the attackers who had no magic of their own to speak of. Aside from Accadus and the supernatural assassins the soldiers seemed to possess no arcane ability.

  “Your powers aren’t that impressive’ the small man tittered. ‘I have rendered you powerless just by using these.”

  Luxon squinted to see what the man held. In a gauntleted fist dangled what looked like a necklace.

  Upon seeing it Thanos took an involuntary step backwards. Shock was evident in the other master’s as well.

  “A talisman of N’gist” the grandmaster whispered in surprise. The tall mage glanced from it to the man.

  “Baron. Where did you obtain these?” Thanos demanded disbelief still evident in his voice.

  The Baron of Retbit laughed, his goons following suit. Accadus simply smirked.

  “A witch told me the secret. I believe they make your spells ineffective...or were it that they drain your kind’s powers? I forget the details” the Baron mocked. “Anyway’ he continued, ‘I am here to exact vengeance for you dishonouring my son’s good name and of course to enlist your aid in the war. With you mages as my servants I will be able to destroy my enemies and finally take the crown that is rightfully mine.”

  “You’re mad,” Thanos replied defiantly. ‘We will never serve you nor will we serve any other claimant. We are neutral in this war; the struggle for power is not our concern. The days when mages intervened in the wars of men ended centuries ago. King or no king we will not break our oaths.”

  The baron clucked his tongue against his teeth for a few moments. An awkward silence descended upon the room.

  “I have three thousand men inside this city all wearing these amulets and another six that are not. If I give the order than every mage, and civilian in this city will be slain and you will be powerless to stop it...unless of course you join me.”

  Luxon frowned. The man was lying, he had seen a number of his men being bested by magic; Welsly had slain several with it himself. Unless of course his being close to those soldiers and their amulets had weakened him enough to allow the assassin to strike.

  A knot of fear wormed into his gut, the baron had them right where he wanted them. Caldaria would fall and there was nothing the mages could do to stop it.

  A memory popped into his head something that Grandmaster Thanos had said; ‘to me, and everyone else magic is something that we must spend decades in near constant practise to bring such power out in us. The magic within you is like a second skin Luxon. It is a reflex to you just like when you blink ‘

  The amulets didn’t work on him! That was why he was able to cast fire against the assassin that had wounded Welsly. His magic was unaffected.

  Taking a deep breath he pushed open the doors to the chamber. The crystal door swung open slowly its heavy weight causing its hinges to creak and alert the Barons men inside. He strode into the chamber as confidently as he could muster. He was nervous; if he was wrong then he had doomed himself.

  The baron turned to face the young man who brazenly walked into the chamber.

  “Who in blazes is this?” the Baron demanded.

  Luxon’s stomach fluttered with nerves. The masters were all watching him in disbelief but Thanos stood still, a faint smile on his lips. Taking a deep breath Luxon pushed his shoulders back and held his head high in an attempt to look as tall and menacing as possible.

  “I am Luxon Edioz, master of the arcane, weaver of spells, destroyer of worlds!” he boomed in what he hoped was a terrifying voice. He felt his heart sink as the Baron and his cronies simply broke down in laughter. Thanos though was still smiling and nodded his head in encouragement.

  Accadus stepped forward; no amused smirk was on his face. Instead, his green eyes were narrowed in hatred. In his armour the bully looked even taller and imposing than when they had last met.

  “Luxon the coward more like. Luxon the liar, Luxon the little shit...” Accadus spat angrily. The shame of being banished from Caldaria had been almost too much to bear, the insult to his family name deserved retribution.

  The Baron placed a hand on his son’s chest halting his tirade of insults. His pig like features gazed at Luxon in amusement.

  “So this is the boy who bested you in a fight and got you exiled from your studies. The son of Garrick the liar at least seems to have more balls than his father at least,” the Baron tittered humourlessly. “It was your father that started this war you know boy. If he had just kept his mouth shut then I would now be King unchallenged. His foolish talk of a surviving heir has caused more bloodshed these past three years than even the Yundol invasions did!”

  Luxon stepped back. Anger swelled within him as the fat baron insulted his father’s memory. His right hand clenched into a fist and once more he felt the magic’s fill him. The sense of power was addictive. Heat flooded up his arm.

  “Take care of this little fool. Whatever power he thinks he has, the amulets will dispel,” the Baron said
dismissively turning his back to face the masters. ‘Now where were we?”

  Accadus and the Baron’s men advanced upon Luxon. Seeing the boy was unarmed they kept their swords sheathed.

  “You deserve nothing less than to be beaten to death. I’m going to finish what I started in that street, and I’m going to enjoy it,” Accadus chuckled evilly.

  With a roar he charged at Luxon.

  Magic like he had never felt before surged through Luxon’s body, power like nothing he’d even read about coursed through his veins. He felt stronger, faster and to his amazement his attackers appeared to move as slow as a drunken slug. The world around him faded from his consciousness, only the charging Retbit soldiers remained in his vision, all sound was muted.

  He easily sidestepped the first punch swung by Accadus, and ducked the next. To him they were in slow motion, but to anyone watching the vicious punches were coming in fast and strong. The other soldiers joined the attack, but Luxon dodged and weaved through the men’s flailing limbs. Not one hand even got close to him.

  “What the..?” shouted the Baron as he watched. The boy was literally dancing through the hail of blows. He should have been a bloody heap on the floor; instead his men were growing tired and more than a little afraid.

  The soldiers stepped back from the boy their breaths coming in ragged gasps. Their heavy armour had weighed upon them draining their strength. Only Accadus remained, his fury quickly being replaced with desperation. Again and again he tried to hit Luxon but couldn’t.

  The Baron spun to face Thanos pointing at his son’s failing attempts to strike the young mage.

  “What devilry is this? How can this be?” he shouted his voice rising in pitch to make him sound like a petulant child. Thanos simply shrugged his shoulders not saying a word.

  Finally Accadus slumped to his knees in exhaustion.

  “What are you?” he gasped at Luxon.

  “Someone you do not want to trifle with again,” Luxon replied coldly.

  It would have been so easy to strike down his foe but something stayed his hand. A whisper at the back of his mind gave a warning against such action. The dream of the knarled tree flashed into his mind. The mysterious spectre was there.

  ‘He has a part yet to play’ it whispered.

  “Kill the little wretch! Kill him!” screamed the Baron. His face was red, flushed in anger. He would not allow a boy to unravel his plans.

  The tired soldiers wearily drew their swords, once more advancing on the strange boy.

  Luxon faced them. The power was still surging through him. He knew that at this moment anything was possible, he had fully channelled the magic of the upper ring, something that even the most powerful of masters had difficulty doing. ‘What am I?’

  He raised his hand. With a flick of his wrist he unleashed a telekinetic blast that flung the soldiers backwards into a startled pile; their swords flew from their hands to hover around Luxon. Each of the blades aimed at the panicked Baron.

  The soldiers staggered to their feet, looked at their lord and then at the boy whose sandy hair was standing up and whose eyes had turned an unearthly bright blue. With shouts of terror they fled the chamber. Luxon let them. Accadus stared at his foe, both terror and awe etched on his expression.

  “LEAVE!” Luxon boomed at Accadus, his voice too resonated with power. Its volume shook the chamber causing dust to fall from the high ceiling.

  He didn’t have to ask twice. Accadus scrambled to his feet and he too fled leaving the Baron alone with the Masters and the boy with the powers that rivalled the tales of Zahnia. He was quaking visibly his lip trembling as though he were about to cry.

  Luxon glared at the Baron his magic infused eyes boring into him.

  “You will leave this city never to return. You will flee back to your castle and never threaten the mages ever again,” Luxon demanded.

  Feebly the Baron took the amulet from his neck and thrust it at Luxon.

  “Your magic will not work on me I have this,” he said trying to sound defiant.

  Luxon glared at the talisman of N’gist. He could sense the dark magic flowing from it. Angrily he batted it out of the Barons hand sending it skidding across the crystal floor. Master Ri’ges quickly gathered it up into his robes.The Baron shrank under Luxon’s gaze. Thanos and the others crowded around him.

  “Heed the words of Luxon, Baron or be destroyed. Magic is not to be used by the likes of you for selfish gain. Order your troops to leave this city and we will spare your foul life,” Thanos whispered threateningly into the man’s ear.

  The Baron nodded.

  “We will leave....forgive me ...please don’t kill me” the mighty and powerful Baron of Retbit cried pitifully. The smell of urine wafted as the warlord wet him-self.

  “Be gone and never return,” Thanos shouted. The Baron fled from the chamber.

  The Grandmaster turned to Luxon.

  The unnatural blue from the boy’s eyes had faded and his skin had turned pale. Thanos smiled as he caught the boy as he collapsed from exhaustion.

  “Thank you”, he whispered

  ***

  13.

  A knock on a door drifted into Luxon’s consciousness. Slowly he opened his eyes. Once again the portrait of Zahnia greeted him as he awoke. The big bed was just as comfortable as before albeit there were more blankets covering him then last time.

  “Really need to stop meeting like this” he muttered to the picture. His limbs felt heavy and he felt drained. The room hadn’t changed aside from there now being a huge basket of fruit laid on the bedside table and several dozen bunches of flowers laid haphazardly about the floor, a few were in vases.

  “Really must find more vases for all of these flowers, it’s sad to see them all die,” Hannah grumbled as she strode into the room, another bunch in her arms. She stopped as she noticed that Luxon was awake. Her large blue eyes widened and she gave a joyous smile.

  “Finally you’re awake,” she said sitting on the bed taking his hand in hers. She frowned slightly at his touch.

  “You’re still so very cold...” she muttered.

  Luxon arched an eyebrow.

  “How long was I out this time?” he asked. His stomach rumbled. He was famished. “And can I have something to eat, I feel like I could eat a whole herd of cattle!”

  Hannah smiled again. She placed the back of her palm to his forehead.

  “Yes you can eat, I’ll send your friend to go and get you something, as for how long you were unconscious...well let’s just say a few days” she smiled sweetly. Her eyes however looked away. She wasn’t telling him something.

  “How long was I out?” he asked again a hint of worry in his voice.

  Hannah sighed and stood.

  “You we’re out cold for three weeks Luxon. We were...I, was terrified that you’d never wake up”, she explained, concern evident in her tone.

  Luxon slumped back into the thick pillows.

  “Three weeks!” He whispered in disbelief. His mind whirled at the revelation. What had happened to him? He remembered feeling powerful, god like powerful, and standing up to Accadus and the Baron and then...nothing.

  “Don’t worry. The city is safe. The Nightblades and the masters chased off the Baron’s men. As for the assassins, they simply disappeared once the Baron retreated. We lost good people, but most are safe and well.” She explained trying to calm him.

  “What about Welsly? Alira? Yepert? What happened to them?”

  “Welsly is fine. In fact he’s in a room just down the corridor from here. Your friend Yepert has been at your bedside every day and has been tending to your needs.’ She paused, a scowl denting her beautiful features. “As for Alira, she’s still hanging about...”

  Luxon smiled at her tone.

  “Jealous are we?”

  Hannah glared at him.

  “No. Just because she is pretty does not mean I am jealous...There’s just something about her I don’t like. I mean she’s been a real help d
ealing with the injured and getting supplies from the markets but...” she paused and laughed. “I do sound jealous don’t I?”

  Luxon chuckled, “Yep you sure do.”

  A gentle knocking on the door interrupted their conversation.

  “Grandmaster” Hannah said bowing to Thanos.

  The tall man wore a simple tunic of blue and pair of dirty black trousers, his boots too was covered in dust. His face was covered in black soot and tired rings were under his blue eyes. He returned Hannah’s bow and smiled pleasantly as she scurried out of the room. Luxon was sad to see her go, it was the first time he’d been able to be alone with her in weeks.

  “I see you’re finally awake oh saviour of Caldaria,” Thanos said chuckling as he gave an exaggerated bow.

  “The what?”

  “That is what everyone is hailing you as my boy. The people of this city know that is was you who saved them from the Baron. Just look at all the gifts you’ve received...” Thanos said looking through the flowers and other gifts that were scattered about the room.

  “Master...why are you covered in dirt?” Luxon asked. Normally the Grandmaster wore his robes of office or the garb one would expect of the Arch Mage. The tall mage waved a hand dismissively.

  “I’ve been helping with the clean up. The Baron’s men left us quite a mess in the alchemist district. I swear the fumes released by some of the alchemist’s potions contained contraband goods. The fires set by the soldiers sent a great big plume of smoke over the city and now half the populace are high as kites” Thanos explained as he read a card from one of Luxon’s many well wishers.

  Luxon couldn’t help but smile. From his glassy gaze the Grandmaster too must have inhaled his fair share of fumes.

  “Now,’ Thanos said turning to face his apprentice. ‘I wish to discuss your health my lad. How do you feel?”

  “I feel exhausted truth be told, and cold” Luxon replied shivering.

  The Grandmaster stood over the bed and pressed a hand onto the boys head. He muttered something under his breath and as he did so Luxon felt a surge of warmth pour into his body.