“Well, you’d better get a couple of your creatures to saw off some claws or fangs as proof of death. There’s no way we’re bringing back a whole head as proof, that’s for sure,” Esset said.
“I hate taking trophies back anyways,” Toman muttered. Esset had to agree—it was more gruesome than most people thought, for most people had never seen a real severed head, even that of a beast. Neither Toman nor Esset would ever desecrate a human body that way, but they had brought back heads for a few monsters and beasts in the past, despite their reservations.
Toman’s snakes were trying to flip the massive monster over to get at the hind claws, but they weren’t large enough to manage it.
“Maybe get your chains to snag the far leg and wrap the other end around your mount,” Esset suggested, sitting back and watching. Toman frowned at him but took the suggestion. The carcass flopped over onto its side, and Esset trotted his mount over to take a look as the stone snakes attached to the beast’s feet.
“Hey Toman, look at that,” Esset said, pointing under the creature’s tail.
“Uh, no thanks,” Toman replied, looking at his brother askance.
“No, look,” Esset insisted.
“I think I can live without seeing monster-junk,” Toman said.
“But that’s just it, it doesn’t have any,” Esset said.
“It’s a girl?” Toman said, still not obliging Esset’s suggestion to look.
“No,” Esset said, not bothering to hide his exasperation. “It’s not either. You know what that means, right?”
Toman took too long to respond, so Esset went ahead again.
“Everything in nature has a way to reproduce. This doesn’t. It’s a mage construct.”
Esset and Toman stared at each other until one of the stone snakes fell backwards as a claw gave way.
“You know what, one claw is enough. Let’s get out of here before the mage shows up,” Toman said. Taking on a mage without preparation was a bad idea.
“I’ll scout the area.” Esset was already steering his mount out of the lair, fully intending to get some altitude to keep an eye out for anyone incoming on their position. Toman leaned over and took the massive claw the rock snake was extending to him as his chains slithered over and began looping themselves around his mount.
Esset’s winged horse pumped its wings in artificial effort, lifting them between the rock faces. Just as he was clearing the cliffs, he caught a glimpse of a disheveled white beard, a thin frame, and red robes.
“NO! What have you done?” The words were formed through an enraged screech. Esset twisted to look again, but he kept his mount fighting for altitude.
The man—a mage, no doubt—was staring at the carcass of his creation, his expression torn between disbelief and rage. Toman had frozen for a moment, surprised in spite of himself, but then his mount pivoted on one hoof and took off at a gallop down the ravine. The action drew the mage’s attention, and Esset saw crackling energy build around the mage’s cadaverous hands. Esset turned his mount in the air and hovered.
“Toman, look out!” Esset yelled. The mage whirled and threw his hands out before him, and Esset could hear the buzzing of high voltage as an energy bolt streaked towards him instead of his brother. Esset had just enough time to pull up on his mount. The bolt hit the stone horse in the stomach, and it exploded in a shower of dust and sharp pebbles. For a moment, Esset struggled for breath; his lungs couldn’t seem to draw in any of the air that ripped and tore at him as he plummeted earthwards. Unable to speak, Esset closed his eyes and chanted the words in his head.
A rush of heat impacted lightly against his body as the fiery bird materialized beneath him. Esset sucked in a breath and grabbed for the base of each of the bird’s wings. One hand found purchase, and Esset’s downward momentum was shifted into horizontal movement. His other hand slipped, and for a moment, Esset thought he was going to fall again. His summon didn’t care if he caught his grip or not. But no, the bird was under his control. It veered to swing him the other way, and he caught the other wing and pulled himself into a more secure position on its back.
It wasn’t a moment too soon. Esset barely caught sight of the second incoming energy bolt as the bird dodged it. The hair on Esset’s arms stood up as it passed too close with an ominous buzz. Esset didn’t have time to gawk as his bird went into a dive, using gravity to aid its speed as it zigzagged around the energy bolts flying towards them. They’d almost completely used up their distance to the ground when the attacks stopped. The fiery bird pulled up and climbed into the sky again.
Esset confirmed a guess when he was able to catch a glimpse of the mage fighting the two stone bears, flinging more of those energy bolts as the animated boulders pounded on a glimmering mage-shield. Doubting Toman’s animations would be enough, Esset summoned a fiery panther to join the fray.
The cat roared and flung itself at the glimmering shield, making the mage inside jump and whirl around, his eyes widening at the sight of the molten creature. Ignoring the stone bears that still pounded on the shield, the mage concentrated on the cat, pummeling it with energy bolts from too short a range for it to dodge. The bolts burst against its skin, but the cat seemed to simply absorb the energy. Unfortunately, Esset knew that was an illusion; his summons only seemed undamaged. Once they absorbed enough punishment, they were banished all at once. Fortunately, the mage didn’t know that. Esset could see him panicking, his eyes wide and wild as he looked around for a way out and found none.
A nimbus began to build around the shield, a faint yellow glow that began pale but was slowly intensifying. Eyes narrowed, Esset maneuvered further away, landing his bird behind a boulder. He looked around for Toman, but he couldn’t see him. He wasn’t too concerned—Toman knew as well as he did that it was better not to be a target. Let the mage fight their minions and minimize the chance of him realizing the fight was over if he took out the animator and the summoner.
Esset glanced back at the mage, but the light had grown so bright it hurt his eyes. Suspecting what was to come, Esset hid behind the boulder just as the light exploded. With a high-pitched squeal, the light washed over everything in an eyeblink. Esset felt his creature vanish, and he doubted Toman’s stone bears had survived either. A quick peek confirmed the guess. The mage stood alone on the rocks, now looking more angry than afraid. For a moment, Esset simply watched, wondering what he’d do. As far as the mage knew, he had no opponents left, and Esset was fairly certain he didn’t know his or Toman’s exact locations.
That was a mistake. The mage closed his eyes, and a second later, light spilled from his hands. The dazzling light coalesced into two green balls that sped towards Toman and Esset.
Esset summoned the first thing that came to mind—a wolf. It leapt out of the air in front of him just in time to snap its jaws closed around the ball of green light. With another dazzling flash, both orb and wolf were obliterated, leaving Esset with his heart hammering in his chest.
Quit standing around. Esset kicked himself into action. He couldn’t hear anything from Toman, so he assumed his brother had blocked the attack as well. And, fortunately, Toman hadn’t been snoozing the way Esset had been. Wait and see what he does…idiot. Esset cursed himself as two rock snakes flung themselves at the aged mage. The mage barely even looked worried as the glowing bubble of his mage shield appeared around him.
Esset was uttering another incantation when the mage turned—and stepped off the edge of the cliff. The words died on Esset’s lips as he rushed to the edge to see the mage floating down gently until he was next to his dead construct. The rock snakes, meanwhile, were forced to slither around the long way.
Esset’s eyes widened and he ducked just in time to avoid a crackling magical projectile. The bolt shattered against the rocks, sending loose stones down the rock face. He waited a second or two, then peeked over the edge. He nearly got his head blown off by another bolt, but he thought he’d seen a sickly green glow surrounding the construct. Twice more he
tried to get enough of a look to summon a cat down by the mage, but the mage seemed very determined to keep him hunkered down. He was about to go for a fourth look when a flash of movement coming from a different direction entirely caught his attention.
A tiny, crude parchment bird was flapping pathetically before him. Toman had simply mashed a piece of parchment into a rough semblance of a bird, far more concerned with practicality than aesthetics. Esset snatched the bird from the air and flattened the paper to read the rough scrawl on it.
Necro. Summon NOW, the note read. Esset huffed. As if he hadn’t been trying to summon something down there. But Toman had figured out what Esset had been unable to—the mage was down there by the construct because he was a necromancer. He was going to raise his own construct from the dead, and that was motivation enough for Esset to get creative. He did not want to fight that thing again, especially not as a zombie. Hopefully Toman had a plan.
Esset summoned a bird and sent it straight up into the sky. It gave a piercing screech as it climbed, dodging the projectiles the mage sent its way. Esset tried to peek over the edge, but the mage was still paying attention, and Esset only barely remained unsinged. Had he been wearing a hat like Toman, he would have lost it. Frowning, he summoned another bird and sent it into a climb just as the other began to dive.
The birds were fast when they dove—faster than they had any right to be. Esset tracked its trajectory as best he could until it was out of sight—by that time, the second was in a dive too. Only then did Esset risk a peek—the mage was distracted, and Esset could see Toman’s snakes already battering at the mage’s shield.
Two birds was the most he could summon at a time, but Esset had a feeling that wouldn’t be a problem for long. Both birds swerved nimbly in the air to avoid the mage-bolts flying at them, narrowly avoiding each projectile without slowing their dives. However, the closer they got, the harder it was to dodge, until one crackling bolt of energy caught one of the birds head on and it vanished in a spray of sparks. That was Esset’s opening.
Esset quickly summoned a cat. It mauled at the shield in a fashion that looked ineffective, but Esset knew it put considerable strain on the mage to keep the shield intact. Especially when the bird slammed into the shield, effectively destroying itself and allowing Esset to summon a second cat.
The glow around the construct faded slightly, and Esset thought he saw the mage frown—it was difficult to tell through the glimmering mage shield at this distance. But it was easy to see the light building around the shield again. Evidently the mage again planned to use the same wave of light that had obliterated Esset’s summons before. It was Esset’s turn to frown as he wondered what his brother’s plan was. Even as the light intensified, he could see the dragon starting to twitch.
Esset ducked when the light burst outwards, but he darted up again, an incantation on his lips so he wouldn’t lose the advantage. Maybe he could summon something before the mage put his shield back up. He looked just in time to see two daggers dart from the dragon’s mouth and impale themselves in the mage’s chest. The mage gaped at them, uncomprehending. Esset gaped too—he’d forgotten about the daggers that Toman had left embedded inside the dragon after he’d killed it.
Esset saw Toman rise from his hiding place in his peripheral vision, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from the mage as the old man slumped to his knees, then his side. Death left a wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression on his face. Toman came to stand by Esset’s side.
“We got lucky,” Toman said. Esset just nodded.
Lucky the mage was old and uncreative. Lucky the mage had chosen to use an attack that left him exposed, if only for a second. Lucky any number of the mage’s attacks hadn’t met their mark. Lucky it had been just this man, alone. Lucky the mage hadn’t seen how they’d killed his pet. Taking down a mage took either a great deal of preparation or a great deal of luck. Or both, but they’d only had luck.
Esset shivered. “Let’s get out of here.” The next words he spoke were incantations.
“You did what?” Mr. Carver squeaked. He’d been offering food, ale, and lodging to the pair a moment before, in return for killing the monster that had plagued them.
“We killed the ‘dragon’ and the mage that created it,” Esset repeated with a hint of pride. A murmur rippled through the small crowd that had gathered upon their return. Toman didn’t like the feel of that murmur, but Esset didn’t seem to notice.
“B-but, that’d be Dark Lord Koris,” Mr. Carver stuttered. “One of the dark lords.”
Esset shrugged. “He was an old man in red robes with a white beard.” The crowd visibly drew back an inch or two. A few at the fringes even scurried away.
“You killed a mage lord. Oh no.” Mr. Carver suddenly looked very afraid. More people hurried away.
“Look, we’re very grateful that you killed the dragon, but you have to go now. Right now. Go.” Mr. Carver actually made a shooing motion with his hands before looking shocked at his own actions. When he looked Toman in the eye, briefly, by accident, he looked afraid of them.
“Please go,” he whimpered. Then he turned and the last of them almost flat out ran away, shutting their doors behind them. Toman even heard the small thunk of a bolt sliding home.
Toman and Esset stood, bewildered, in the street.
“Well,” Toman finally said, looking around.
“That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting,” Esset said, almost sounding a little hurt.
“Nor I,” Toman admitted, but he was mildly amused by Esset’s response.
“I guess it’s time to go see Lord Erizen,” Toman added, dropping his volume so only Esset could hear.
Esset shot him a disgusted look. “Why would we do that?”
“To get payment, I imagine. Why else would he give you instructions to his castle? He certainly didn’t leave our reward money here,” Toman replied.
“Forget the payment, we ought to just leave now,” Esset said.
“I think we ought to go. And you said yourself that Erizen was planning to provide us with transportation to his castle,” Toman said.
“If we go to the next town over,” Esset grumbled. He was the one who had received the information from Erizen, after all.
“Then let’s fly as far as we can without being seen and hoof it to our rendezvous point,” Toman said. Esset frowned. “Come on, hero, cheer up. We just saved a village from a dragon! Surely that’s enough like an old tale to make you happy,” Toman goaded him, but Esset did seem to lighten up a bit.
“The best tales had heroes rescuing fair maidens as well as villages…but sure,” Esset conceded. But despite his lightened demeanor, he added, “I still don’t like anything to do with Erizen.”
As if there had been any doubt.
The sunrise looked truly odd. It was bright, and the rising sun cast the sky in many different shades of grey, but it remained as colorless as ever. Even Toman would have had to admit that it was mildly disturbing, but his brother just scowled at the sky and said nothing.
They trekked the remainder of the distance to the town from their campsite on foot—the fewer eyes that saw them, the better. There was movement, certainly, but mostly it was faint smoke hovering over chimneys and the brief glimpses of people behind curtains. That, and the arrival of a tiny courier wagon. Toman and Esset picked up their pace to greet it.
“Good morning.” Esset greeted the man stepping down from the driver’s seat. The courier didn’t even seem to notice them. Esset regarded him curiously before trying again. “Good morning,” he repeated.
Once again, the courier ignored him. Esset glanced at Toman, but he could only shrug. The courier retrieved a large package from the interior of the vehicle.
“Do you need help with that?” Esset offered, stepping forward with his hands outstretched. The courier stepped around him and headed for a nearby building. Esset’s hands fell to his sides.
“What do you remember from Erizen’s instructions?” Toman asked in
a hushed tone. Given the courier’s odd behavior, he was fairly certain that Esset had missed something.
“Just…get in the courier wagon,” Esset said with a shrug, looking at his brother after one last puzzled look after the courier.
“Sounds like we should just get in the wagon then,” Toman suggested. The door had been left open. Toman leaned in the door and peered inside—it was completely empty. Normally couriers didn’t take passengers, as far as Toman knew, and the carriage was small, designed for speed and sturdiness rather than comfort.
Esset peered over his shoulder into the interior. “Looks uncomfortable.”
“But it should be inconspicuous. No one will see us if we keep the curtains drawn.” Toman stepped up into the carriage, and Esset followed him. As Toman closed the door, he saw the courier return. The man again ignored them, and Toman felt the carriage shift as the courier climbed to his seat. A moment later, there was a snap of reins and an encouraging sound to the horse and they were off towards Erizen’s capital.
“Thank Hyrishal. There’s the castle,” Toman said, peeking through the slit between the curtains covering the tiny window.
“It’s about time. Next time let’s just use your animations and fly by night,” Esset said. “Then we don’t have to stay days squished in this ridiculous carriage.”
“I’m…actually inclined to agree,” Toman said. “The less time we spend in all this grey, the better.” He took off his hat and scowled at it. “The color had better come back when we leave this place, or I’m going to be really upset.”
Esset just looked down at himself. Everything not biologically attached to them had turned grey. Esset really wasn’t happy about that either—he liked the colors of his clothes. That was why he’d chosen clothes of those colors.
The warm coil of tension and anger still boiled in Esset’s gut. “I’m ready to tear a strip off that man. Could you imagine having to live in this kingdom? Grey everything. It’s depressing, and there’s no way it’s benevolent. We shouldn’t be getting involved with him, not even this far. He’s on the wrong team. We should turn around and leave.”
Calling On Fire (Book 1) Page 8