Heir To The Nova (Book 3)

by T. Michael Ford

  Heir to the Nova

  Book Three of the Enchanters

  of Xarparion

  by

  T. Michael Ford

  For the release of my third book, I would like to again thank the individuals who have stood by me and supported me the entire time. First and foremost, I would like to thank my father. His aid, attention to detail, and creative suggestions have once again helped shape these books into what they are. Second, I would like to thank Betty, my editor, who has put even more time into this book than the other two combined.

  I would like to thank Jenny Hentges for the amazing cover art. Once again, she has done a wonderful job, and now everyone can put an image to the pixie battle cry!

  Then there are my beta readers, who once again threw their ‘constructive’ feedback right at me. Some of it I followed and some of it I didn’t, but I never questioned their commitment to make each book the best possible. Seriously, thank you, guys! So thank you Tammy, Cathy, George, and Mandy for all your work. And last, but not least, I would like to thank everyone who supported my first two books after launch. It means a lot to me that you took the time to write a review or post on the author’s page. I love to hear from you guys, and your kind words and suggestions definitely kept me going; I really hope you like Heir to the Nova.

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, situations and events portrayed in this novel are from the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical without expressed written permission from T. Michael Ford.

  No actual marmots were harmed in the writing of this book.

  Copyright © 2014 T. Michael Ford

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilog

  Chapter 1

  I like to think that I’m a pretty level-headed guy, at least normally. Right now, all I feel is sadness and a deep-burning anger with a decent amount of righteous self-pity thrown in for a garnish. Somnus, my warhorse, was picking up on my general bad mood, which caused the flames that made up his mane, tail, and hooves to flare up and totally ruin my night vision. Not that I really needed it or was paying attention to where I was going anyway. All I knew was that it was the road leading away from the dark elf capital and that was good enough; Somnus could sort out the rest of the details.

  Somnus liked to gallop. The only thing spoiling his enjoyment of the night run was that his sister Kaima wasn’t alongside to pace him. He could see as well during the night as during the day so I gave him his head and let him go. I had my helmet clipped to my belt which allowed the cold night air to blow through my hair. I hoped the chill would ease the relentless fire in my brain. I glanced down at my shoulder and saw that Nia had retreated out of the wind into her nook in my shoulder armor. She was curled up like a squirrel in a nest; but even asleep, she was frowning.

  The events of the past hours scrolled through my mind like an endless line of parade-goers past a beer stand. At dusk of this very night, I had begun my dark elf test of manhood. A formality at my age, yes; but it was something I needed to get past in order to court and marry a dark elf girl. In this case, the girl in question was the love of my life–Maya, or should I amend that to “Queen Maya” now, as my thoughts soured like biting into a rotting lemon.

  In just the span of a few hours, things had gone from great to absolutely horrifying. Maya’s parents, the King and Queen of the dark elves, had been assassinated in their home. Making matters worse yet, the magic keystone–the whole reason for our trip here–was stolen at the same time. As Maya was the King and Queen’s only child, the dark elves wasted no time in proclaiming her the new Queen. Oddly, her first official act in office was to order me cast out of the city immediately!…Just peachy!

  The last time I saw my darling dusky elf was when she came out of her parents’ house; barefoot, tattered and obviously distraught. At the time, I was being held back by a squad of heavily-armed footmen led by a gap-toothed sergeant who didn’t bother to contain his contempt of humans. In turn, I didn’t bother to disabuse him of this notion as all my attention was on Maya. She stopped on the front step and called out to me, looking for all the world like she wanted to run straight into my arms. Before either of us could move forward, a group of older, distinguished-looking dark elves in formal robes surrounded her and started talking with her. Suddenly, they and all the guardsmen present dropped to their knees, and the councilor with the most decorations on his collar lifted up his hands and shouted, “All Hail, Queen Maya!”

  Huh?

  I may have gotten the exact order of things somewhat askew as I was in a bit of pain at the time. My good friend, the sergeant, had decided that I, too, needed to kneel; and he promptly drove the haft of his short spear hard into the back of my knees, dropping me to the ground with the rest of them. This, along with the stark missive, “Show some respect, human pig!”

  Annoyed as hell, but not enough to retaliate, I watched as a light enclosed carriage pulled up in front of the house and Maya was hustled inside by several of the councilors. As soon as the doors closed, the carriage raced off accompanied by a dozen or so of the heavy cavalry that had been loitering around in the street the whole time. A few seconds later, Maya was gone, only the stirred-up dust in the street marking her rapid departure. Getting shakily to my feet, I hobbled over to a nearby bench, much to the amusement of my guard contingent. In the past few minutes, I had come to think of them as “my guard contingent” as the only thing they seemed to be focused on was watching my every move and nothing else.

  Sitting on the bench, I looked around, noting the general mayhem going on around me. There were archers on the roof, still some cavalry in the street, and more guardsmen running around like ants than there had been on the wall defending the city the previous day against the undead attack. Sighing, I reached out to Winya in my thoughts.

  “Winya, what the hell is going on?”

  “Alex! Sorry, I don’t know much either. We have just arrived at some underground bunker or cave and there are about twenty people all trying to talk to Maya at once. Her brain is so racked with pain and sorrow that she really isn’t forming clear thoughts.”

  Winya went on to tell me what the council member had said about Maya being the Queen now. She also explained about how she was obligated to quickly marry a dark elf from one of the stronger clans. I felt my heart and mind begin to plunge into a deep dark hole.

  Nia, after giving a dirty look to the soldiers, flew down to perch on my knee. I was filling her in on the discussion with Winya when the big pixie tears started forming in her eyes.

  “But, Mr. Alex, that’s not fair! Maya loves you; we’re supposed to be a family now.”

  I was on the verge of joining her in the tears part. And just when it seemed that the night couldn’t get any worse, I was proven wrong. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young elf runner in some sort of official livery jog up to the sergeant and point at me, whisper something and then run off.

  A few moments later, my buddy with the spear gathered his squad and strutted over to where I was sitting. He smiled jovially, which really made me feel uncomfortable. Puffing out his chest, he spo
ke in common, “You, human! By order of the Queen, you are allowed to go inside and retrieve your armor and weapons. You are also to remove your horse and gear from the stable. Once that is done, we are to escort you the hell out of our city!”

  “The Queen,” I echoed woodenly. “Where’s Maya? I need to see her!”

  “You, human swine, are a stupid lot, aren’t you? What did I just say? Get your gear and leave!” He looked back at his troops with an evil grin. “We are ordered not to harm you; but if you resist orders, well then, I would say all bets are off.”

  Nia buzzed up angrily, and I could see that she was thinking a fireball or two was in order. But I held up a hand to stop her. Shaking my head, I got up from the bench and walked the short distance to the house, noting the quantities of drying blood that led out to the street and then stopped abruptly. The sergeant and two of his men stayed a couple paces behind me as I walked around the back of the home and entered through the back door by the training circle. There in the dirt-floored equipment room, I found my armor still in the wooden cabinet where I left it. I pulled out my leather undersuit and carefully put it on. The troopers looked on impatiently as I started removing the armor plates and chainmail and arranging them on the bench in front of me.

  “Don’t expect us to help you with that; we aren’t your damn squires,” my gap-toothed tormentor growled.

  “That won’t be necessary,” I spat, the numbness of the past few minutes beginning to wear off. I was starting to get pissed at him and the whole situation in general. I folded up my white enchanter’s robe and put it in my pack. Finally, I spaced my legs apart and extended my arms. Instantly, the armor rose up off the bench and hovered a few inches away from its intended assembly point. As one, the plates and chainmail clamped together over my body. Seams sealed and overlaid joints conformed to my shape exactly. The last item was the great helm which floated up and settled gently on my suit’s collar, sealing down tight with a soft metallic pop.

  Reaching out, my hammer and shield flew to my gauntleted hands and I tapped the shield boss with the side of the hammer, yielding a satisfying gong sound that made the soldiers jump nervously. Judging by the looks on their faces, I would have to say that they weren’t expecting a magic show. The two other guards were backing away from the sergeant; apparently just in case I decided I had been pushed around enough.

  Nia took the opportunity to fly up to my shoulder and shout, “Combat Pixie!” which caused molten-looking metal to slide against gravity, up her legs and torso and swiftly cover her whole body. Two wicked toothpick-sized swords and a full helm completed the look, and it was pretty impressive; even the edge of her wings were armored.

  Ignoring the open-mouthed looks of astonishment from the guards, I slid my hammer into the sheath on my back and headed out the doorway to the bridge over the shallow moat leading to the stable. When I arrived, the barn door was open and Somnus was already fully barded in his unicorn armor. Someday when I’m in a much better mood, I will have to figure out how they do that. Kaima, on the other hand, was not armored and was just munching contentedly on some alfalfa, not looking like she had anywhere special to go at the time.

  Grabbing his reins, I led the great horse out. My guard contingent followed, finally speechless, as we walked briskly through the city’s dark, empty streets toward the main gate.

  Scowling inside my helm, I reached out to Master Rosa back in Sky Raven. I was sure she was already monitoring my thoughts and probably reeling from the dark cloud of anger building like a thunderhead in my skull.

  “Alex, has everyone gone absolutely crazy there? Anyway, the twins took off ten minutes ago; they should be there in less than two hours. What are you going to do now?” she asked.

  “I have no idea. Camp out on the edge of town, I guess; at least until I can talk to Maya and get this straightened out.”

  I felt a stab of concern and uncertainty come across our bond. With some hesitation, she continued, “Alex, be aware that elf society in general has some pretty strict rules regarding succession of leadership. They are needed because of our extended life spans. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but there is a good chance that you will not get the answer you hope for when you talk to her.”

  “You’re just another fabulous ray of sunshine in my day, Rosa. I will contact you when I know more.”

  After another few minutes of winding around the various shops and warehouses in the business district near the main gate, our group came to a halt before the stone and wood structure. At a signal from the sergeant following me, the regular night gate guards hurriedly started swinging apart the heavy doors.

  I felt something tapping the top of my helm and releasing Somnus’s reins, I spun around to see the sergeant smacking the top of my helmet with his spear. He grinned crookedly. “Don’t even think about trying to sneak back inside, human; we’ll be watching for you. The boys and I might have to dirty up that pretty white armor if you do.”

  I reached out and grabbed the front of his chainmail shirt and hoisted him off the ground, his legs kicking wildly.

  “You listen to me, you self-important jackass,” I grated angrily, pressing my helm right up to his face. “In less than two hours, a pair of young human girls will arrive at this gate. When they do, you are to take them directly to the Queen; they are her personal handmaidens. If I hear they are bothered, detained, insulted, injured, or inconvenienced in any way, I will come back here and raze this entire place around your damn ears! Do you understand me?” As I was saying this, I felt a slight bump and my mage sight showed me that one of the other guards had come up behind me, attempting to find a seam and stab me in the back with a dagger. Without lowering the sergeant in the slightest, I swung around and backhanded the footman in the face, sending him careening twenty feet back into the street, his mouth a bloody ruin.

  Concentrating my attention back on the sergeant, I gave him a little shake and said, “Well?”

  “Ummm, yes…Sir Knight, understood,” he coughed.

  “See that it is,” I said, tossing him roughly on his butt in the street. I then picked up his spear and snapped the two-inch oak shaft in two with just my hands, tossing the pieces down. “One good thing though, Sergeant.”

  “What’s that?” he hissed angrily, still crouched on the ground where I had thrown him.

  “You no longer have the worst teeth in the unit,” I stated flatly. Somnus and I walked through the gate and the night guards nearly tripped over themselves to close and bar the massive gate behind me.

  Climbing up into the saddle, I took Somnus back to the small hill that overlooked the main gate, the same one from which we had planned our defense of this city against the attacking horde of undead. My mind wandered a bit and I mused sadly about how quickly the heroes become the enemy and the rescued turn on their saviors. And how small we looked in relation to the stars that shown in a dazzling array above my head. Finally, I sighed and reached out to Winya.

  “Hey, girl, how is Maya holding up?”

  “Umm, hi, Alex.”

  “Winya, the twins should be here in less than two hours.”

  “That’s good; we could certainly use the help. Maya’s grandfather is here now and the guardsman, Ollis, whom you also know. She has been in constant strategy meetings so far.

  “Ahuh. Please link us together; I need to talk to her. I especially need her to rescind this order banning me from the city. I can’t help her from out here.”

  “She’s really busy, Alex; now is not a good time.”

  “Now, Winya!”

  “Alex, I’m sorry, I can’t. She is refusing the link.”

  “What? You’re saying she won’t talk to me?” I said weakly, my chest starting to tense up and hurt. I ripped my helmet off and sucked in a huge breath of cold air, but it didn’t help.

  “I’m so sorry; she really isn’t talking to me much either. But if it helps, I’ll tell you what I know. First, she needs you to leave. The political situation is extreme
ly precarious; Faeron was only barely holding the majority opposition to the Lifebane together. And with him gone, several of the waffling clans may switch allegiance and vote to have the entire dark elf nation rejoin the Duke’s banner. If that happens, you know that Sky Raven will be the first target the Duke will throw the dark elves at, which would be disastrous for both sides.”

  “But why do I need to leave? I can help,” I protested.

  “No, you are a huge political liability. Not only do you look like a human, you are the prince of a foreign power. The more conservative clans fear that you will control the Queen’s actions to the detriment of the dark elves. You have to stay far away.”

  “For how long?”

  “Alex…I don’t know…I’m a sword, not a politician, dammit!” she sent in some frustration. Seeming to immediately realize that she was not the only one in distress here, she tried to take a more soothing tack. “Alex, my best guess is that she is determined not to allow her parents’ murderers to escape, nor to let her people rejoin forces with the Lifebane at any cost.” Winya paused sympathetically, and I thought I heard a catch in her voice. “She is a soldier, too; she understands the concept of personal sacrifice. We all do, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to go into battle day after day. It’s just something we need to do…I’m so sorry.”

  I got down off Somnus and sat disconsolately on a rock, staring up into the night sky.

  “Ok, but the prophecy says that the great evil can only be defeated by the joining of the Child of Darkness and the Child of Light!” I shot back miserably.

  “And as usual, prophecies are obscure trash,” Winya huffed. “Your concept of ‘joining’ I’m pretty sure I know. But what if it means something entirely different? If Maya leads an army of dark elves into the final battle against the Duke, along with your marshaled forces…Is that not ‘joining’ together to defeat the common foe as well?”

  “Unfortunately, she has a valid point, Alex,” Rosa chimed in sadly. “If I’ve learned nothing else from associating with your parents, it’s that the universe is a cruel and fickle mistress.”