by Ben Wolf
Together with Riley, he might’ve been able to kill Rhaza and perhaps even Kahn as well, but they couldn’t have hoped to battle both monsters and Lumen at the same time.
To Magnus’s relief, once they’d flown high above the camp, well out of reach of those beasts, Riley thanked him and shouted above the ruckus of the air rushing around them, “You made the right call. There’s no way we were getting out of that alive.”
“He set us up,” Magnus growled. “He found them and altered them before we returned. He knew what he was going to do, and he was going to do it regardless of whether or not we accepted his ‘punishment.’”
“They were the punishment,” Riley said.
“Exactly.” Magnus turned toward Solace and Valkendell.
“You sure this is wise?” Riley asked.
“Our other choice is to fade into oblivion, powerless to influence the outcome of the war,” Magnus said. “We have friends in Valkendell. Friends who will be glad to see us, and who, according to your report, can get us an audience with the King. But first, you must tell me everything that happened when you were in there.”
“Sure,” Riley said. “But do you mind letting me climb onto your back instead? I don’t want to look like I’m just a stuffed toy in your hand when we land in the middle of the city. Talk about embarrassing…”
Axel couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d half-expected Lumen would follow Magnus and Riley, but instead he’d stayed put, watching them go.
Then Lumen turned around to face the army, condemned Magnus and Riley for their betrayal and called them cowards for fleeing. He gave a grandiose speech about how they would still liberate Kanarah even without Magnus and Riley, but all Axel could focus on was the mammoth Jyrak and the overgrown Shadow Wolf standing at Lumen’s sides.
How was such a thing even possible? He’d encountered a Jyrak before—he’d even been inside one’s mouth—and he knew they weren’t tame-able creatures.
Yet there stood Kahn, reborn as a massive corruption, like a castle-sized puppet waiting for Lumen to make him dance on strings, but with his head still smashed in.
Rhaza struck Axel as even more terrifying, but he had no plans to get anywhere near either of the two of them. And while Axel lamented—well, perhaps “lamented” was too strong a word—the loss of Magnus and Riley as fellow soldiers in Lumen’s army, he couldn’t deny that the two monsters flanking Lumen would undoubtedly be even more effective in the battle to come.
Even so, it struck Axel as strange, if not coincidental, that he’d lost his four closest friends to poor decisions and treachery all within less than an hour. He remained grateful to Magnus and Riley for freeing him from the King’s clutches, but in the end, Lumen’s mission came first. And Axel had already chosen his side.
“Axel.”
Lumen’s booming voice tore Axel from his thoughts. He looked up at the General of Light, the leader of their army, and awaited his next words.
“Come forth.”
Axel obeyed, even though the thought of getting anywhere near either Kahn or Rhaza—or Lumen, for that matter, especially after what had just happened—terrified him.
As he did, he caught sullen scowls from General Balena and General Tolomus of the Windgales. Then he spotted Janessa, Dallahan, and Embry, the trio of Wolves who’d harassed him and stolen his rations throughout the journeys across Trader’s Pass. They eyed him as well, and one of them—Axel couldn’t tell which one—even growled at him.
What was their problem? Were they upset that Lumen had banished Magnus and Riley? Or were they just jealous that Lumen had called him forward and no one else?
Axel crossed the open field and stood twenty paces from Lumen, who still hovered in the air between Kahn and Rhaza.
“You mentioned you had valuable information to share,” Lumen said. “Speak, and if you are true to your word, I shall grant you that which your heart has always desired.”
Axel gulped, and his heart thundered in his chest. Was this it? Was this the moment he’d been waiting for? Tentatively, he asked, “Power?”
“All that I have promised you and more,” Lumen said. “You will be my first and only Imperator, and I will grant you not only the portion of power I reserved for you, but also the portion I reserved for Calum, as he is now an apostate. You shall be my masterpiece.”
Axel’s mouth stretched into a giddy smile. It’s finally gonna happen.
“But first, you must speak,” Lumen concluded, folding his arms.
Axel opened his mouth, and without hesitation, he told Lumen everything. When he finished, he looked up at Lumen expectantly, glad he’d gotten it all out, but also relieved that neither Kahn nor Rhaza had moved from their places at Lumen’s side.
Lumen lowered to the ground and walked the twenty paces from his position to Axel’s in only eight strides. He stopped well within arm’s reach of Axel and stared down at him with his blazing white eyes.
“You have done very well.” Lumen extended his hands, palms up. “Take my hands.”
Despite his glee, Axel hesitated. He’d seen what Lumen’s power had done to Calum, and he’d seen how it had transformed Kahn and Rhaza. What would happen to him if he accepted this gift?
“Will I still be… me?” Axel asked.
“You will be more you than you could have ever been without me,” Lumen replied. Then he waited for Axel to make his choice.
“I don’t want to be me.” Axel dared to meet Lumen’s eyes. In them, he saw an eternity of white light, of raw power, of limitless potential. “I want to be you.”
“Then you shall be,” Lumen said. “Give me your hands, and I will make it so.”
Axel ignored the conflict raging in his soul and placed his hands on top of Lumen’s.
Lightning screamed up Axel’s arms and into his body, seizing every inch of it in a second. His nerves frayed and burst. His arteries and veins caught fire. His mind catapulted over itself and distorted.
And his body was remade.
Lumen pulled his hands away, and Axel collapsed to his knees, but not from weakness—it was from the new power coursing through his body, reconstructing every part of him from the inside out. Forging him into a living weapon. Transforming him into a warrior of legend.
When Axel finally arose, steam hissed from his armor. Everything was different now.
Axel could sense things he’d only been vaguely aware of before. He could hear and see for miles. He could feel the ground pulsating with every vibration beneath his feet. He could taste the fear of his enemies in Solace.
“There is one more thing I must do to unleash your true power,” Lumen said. “It will not be pleasant.”
“Do it,” Axel said. Even his voice sounded different. He’d always been confident, but now he sounded like he was on a whole new level… and he was.
Lumen leaned in close, positioning his face close to Axel’s—so close that, even in spite of his new power, Axel couldn’t help but feel awkward.
Then Lumen pulled off the mask that covered the lower half of his face.
Axel’s eyes widened, and he screamed.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Calum, wake up!”
Calum’s eyes flickered open, and he stared up at Lilly, who stood over him in his bedroom. He’d dropped her off at her chambers—under Condor’s watchful eye, of course—and then retired to his own, so it confused him to see her here.
Rays of morning sunshine streamed through his window, but the heavy curtains blocked most of the light. It couldn’t be very late. From the rose-gold color of the sunshine, he guessed it was just after dawn.
A thought hit Calum, and he jerked upright in the bed. Had Lumen’s army already attacked? Was that why Lilly had awakened him?
“Relax,” she said, rubbing his shoulder. “It’s good news, for once.”
He blinked at her. “What news?”
“Magnus and Riley are here.”
Nothing could’ve gotten Calum out of that bed faster than t
hose five words.
With total disregard for his appearance, Calum bolted past her into the hallway. He hadn’t quite anticipated what he’d find out there, especially since there was no way Magnus could fit into most of the halls inside Valkendell.
Sure enough, nobody was out there except for Condor, who tried to stifle a yawn, but upon seeing Calum clad only in his undershorts shook his head and grinned.
“Now I see why the Premieress is so interested in you,” he said.
Calum’s cheeks caught on fire, and he looked down. Then he darted back into his chambers, only to turn around and hurry back out again. Lilly walked out a moment later, gave him a wink, and then Calum rushed back inside, threw on some clothes and his boots, and met the two of them in the hallway once again.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Don’t apologize,” Lilly said with another wink. “I didn’t mind.”
“On the contrary, do apologize,” Condor insisted. “If I wasn’t awake before, the sight of you in your skivvies was more than enough to do the trick. At least warn us next time, will you?”
“Sorry,” Calum repeated, and again, his cheeks ignited with heat.
Condor escorted Calum and Lilly down to the ground level and outside to the front of the fortress. As soon as the doors opened, Calum saw an unmistakable mass of dark-green scales, and he rushed toward Magnus with his arms outstretched.
He felt no shame upon flinging himself at Magnus and wrapping his right hind leg in a huge embrace. “You came back!”
Magnus returned the embrace by gently reaching down and wrapping his right arm around Calum’s back. It enveloped the entire back side of Calum’s body, except for his head, and then some.
“That we did,” he replied. “But only barely.”
Calum released his embrace, and so did Magnus. Riley appeared from behind Magnus’s right wing, and he slid off the side of the Dragon King’s flank and landed on the street next to Calum.
“What do you mean?” he asked as he shared an embrace with Riley, all the while remembering how he used to be so much bigger than the Wolf. But now Riley had him by several inches in height and a lot of muscle mass.
“We must speak to your King,” Magnus said.
The phrasing of it—“your King”—struck Calum as odd, but he didn’t bother to correct Magnus. After everything that had happened, Calum had no trouble admitting it was the truth.
“He’s inside,” Lilly said. “We can take you to him.”
To Calum’s surprise, Magnus somehow managed to squeeze through the narrow halls leading to the King’s garden. The King had been there ever since saving Calum’s life the night before, and now he sat on a wooden bench lining one of the many paths in the garden, resting.
He’d donned new clothes after the incident with Calum’s light blast, and the redness on the side of his face and neck seemed to have reverted back to the usual bronze color of his skin. Valerie sat beside him on the bench, holding an oak mug filled with steaming liquid. Whether it was for her or the King, Calum didn’t know.
Matthios and Gavridel were nowhere in sight, likely both tending to the forthcoming defense of the city and of Valkendell.
When Magnus approached, the King looked up at him with weariness in his green eyes rather than the usual vitality Calum was accustomed to. Then the King looked at Riley, and to both of them, he said, “Welcome to Valkendell, honored guests.”
Magnus and Riley glanced at each other and then at Calum.
Magnus spoke first. “You would consider us guests, even though we were leading armies to overthrow you?”
The King’s brow furrowed, and he craned his neck as if to look past Magnus’s enormous form, which reached almost to the diamond dome overhead. “Forgive me, but I see no armies behind you.”
“Ouch.” Riley cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. “Uh… yeah. About that. We sort of… lost them.”
“They were taken from us,” Magnus corrected him.
Calum had yet to hear how it had all gone down. Maybe now he would get the chance.
“I do not mention it to further wound your pride,” the King said, “but rather to demonstrate that you are here of your own accord, despite your past transgressions. Therefore, you are honored guests.”
“Thanks, Your Majesty.” Riley gave a slight bow. “That’s, uh, really generous.”
Magnus didn’t seem as convinced. “I do not understand. We openly rebelled against you. Were it not for Lumen’s recent actions, we would still be leading our armies with the end goal of usurping you. How can you possibly trust us?”
Despite his haggard appearance and lax posture, the King gave Magnus the same devoted attention that he’d given Calum every time they’d spoken.
After a long pause, he replied, “I do not believe either of you are disloyal individuals. On the contrary, your loyalty to Calum is perhaps the most crucial element in bringing you to this place. Lumen’s actions are what they are, but it is because of your loyalty to Calum and your shared friendship that you are here. Regardless of the minutiae of what happened and how it led you to this place, that loyalty is always constant. It is that loyalty within you that I trust.”
Now it was Magnus’s turn to digest the King’s words. He did so with a bow of his own and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty. You are a man of great wisdom.”
“Please, sit.” The King motioned toward the path and the grassy section of the garden beyond. “Tell me what you know. Any advantage, no matter how small, will aid us in the battle to come. Make yourselves comfortable.” He added, “Do take care to mind the foliage, though, Magnus.”
Magnus and Riley explained what had happened on their end, and then Calum and Lilly had the chance to explain what had transpired here inside Valkendell. He skipped over the part about getting together with Lilly, but he figured they’d realize that development soon enough.
Not long after they finished updating each other, Matthios entered the garden, double-bladed spear in hand. He glanced up at Magnus a few times and then stood before the King.
“Your Majesty,” he began, “Lumen awaits you at the city gates.”
Rather than going down to meet Lumen face-to-face, the King, Matthios, and Valerie escorted Calum and the others to a balcony overlooking the city. From their vantage point high above, Calum could see Lumen and his army pooled like liquid just outside the city gates.
But this time, a hulking monstrosity stood beside Lumen. It was unmistakably both a Jyrak and Kahn, the dead former Dragon King killed by Magnus. A smaller, yet still impressively large Shadow Wolf stood on Lumen’s other side, and though they were far away, Calum could tell it was Rhaza, just as Magnus and Riley had said.
“Who is leading the Windgales?” Lilly asked.
Condor shook his head. “I can’t see that far. But since General Balena hasn’t tried to defect to our side, I fear…”
“He would never side with anyone over his own flesh and blood. He was relentlessly loyal to my father, and his behavior has not changed since I ascended,” Lilly said. “If he still leads the Windgales, it is compulsory. He has seen what Lumen is capable of, and he is no fool. He must be biding his time until he can make whatever move he intends to make.”
Condor nodded but gave no reply.
“Now you see why Lumen was expelled from Valkendell,” the King said.
“Expelled?” Calum asked.
The King didn’t say anything else, but Valerie spoke up in his place.
“Lumen, the General of Light, was once an Imperator like Matthios and Gavridel,” she explained, but this time her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “He was the strongest of the Imperators, capable of controlling light itself. When he rebelled, the King cast him out, but Lumen’s power remained. He used it to create an army of abominations like the two you see before you.”
Calum exchanged glances with Lilly. Valerie’s explanation made total sense.
“The battle raged for days, and many of Kanarah’s cit
izens perished,” she continued. “The cost was high, but the King, in his generosity and mercy, sought to give Lumen a means to atone for his wrongdoing, so he banished him to his subterranean prison for a thousand years. He had hoped Lumen would see the error of his ways, but instead…”
Valerie motioned toward the city gates and the army that lay beyond it, and morning sunlight glinted off the jewels in her sapphire necklace.
The idea that Lumen had been one of the King’s Imperators fascinated Calum for multiple reasons. It answered a question Calum had never bothered to ask: where had Lumen come from? And it also explained why Lumen despised the King so vehemently. The sour grapes between them dated back even farther than Calum had assumed.
“Lumen violated the Overlord’s laws,” the King added. “By reanimating the husks of dead beings, he has rejected the power of the Overlord’s ability to create life and replaced it with a hideous facsimile.
“But he went even further than that. He stopped experimenting on the dead and began to infect the living with this scourge as well.” The King nodded toward Lumen. “And here you see both crimes on full display. Kahn has been reanimated, and Rhaza has been transformed. Both are abominations, and both of them are slaves to Lumen’s every whim.”
Slaves.
For the longest time, Calum had known exactly what that word meant. Or at least, he thought he had.
Now, upon seeing Kahn and Rhaza standing there like a child’s dolls, ready to be manipulated and moved to whatever end Lumen could conjure, he realized a new definition of the word.
Calum had almost become one of Lumen’s victims. Were it not for the King’s intervention…
“This is Lumen’s vision for Kanarah,” the King continued. “Several of his army have also received his touch, just as you have, Calum, only they lack the means to recover from their affliction. They cannot access true healing while also serving at Lumen’s side.”
“So they’re destined to become puppets, just like Kahn and Rhaza?” Riley asked.