Silent Requiem (Tales of Ashkar Book 3)

by Kayl Karadjian

  “I don’t recall you being authority in Arcadia, either,” Graeme said.

  The Asmani emissary eyed the rest of them, opened his mouth to say something, and then thought the better of it.

  “What is the empress curious about?” asked Laralen before the room could grow quiet again.

  “This war that the Order of the Faith waged on Arcadia,” said the Asmani emissary, the words spilling out of his mouth like he had been waiting a long time to say them, “was over what? A young boy with a dubious title?”

  “How does the empress know of such things?” Graeme asked.

  The Asmani emissary gave Graeme a look of contempt. “Empress Ambrose is not deaf. Now, what would fuel an entire nation to wage war over a legend?” He continued his way around the room, emptily looking at random objects. “One crazed fool may believe in a story of a nameless god, but this was not the same, was it?”

  “I believe you have overstayed your welcome,” Graeme said.

  When the Asmani emissary did not move, Laralen looked at Flint, who looked at his guards, who glared at the emissary. Without much fear, the emissary walked past them all, including Flint’s guards, and opened the door.

  “Empress Ambrose does not fancy secrets,” warned the Asmani emissary before disappearing.

  “Well then,” Flint said as he looked at the others.

  “Should we go after him, Boss?” one of the guards said.

  Flint shook his head. “Don’t Boss me, Janitor. Do I pay you to be dumb? Of course you’re not going to go after him, you idiot.”

  Graeme gave Laralen a worried look. “Have we just made another enemy?”

  Chapter 19

  273rd Dawn of the 5010th Age of Lion

  “Do you know who that is?” Incindir asked as the two watched the odd figure in the distance, who had started making its way down toward them. The closer it got, the less Incindir wanted to stick around to find out, and when he realized that it was an executioner with purple-eyes, he dropped his supplies, grabbed Halcyon, and ran.

  He ran into the cave, bringing up his free hand palm up and summoning a flame to light his way. The cave twisted and turned, and though Incindir could not see much farther than a dozen feet nor did he know if he was charging into the hungry jaws of a creature, he did not bother to slow down.

  “Does it feel… hotter in here?” Incindir asked Halcyon as he delved deeper. He found himself throwing off layer after layer, sweat pouring down his face.

  The narrow tunnel gave way to a wide cavern, and Incindir realized why he was feeling so hot. Pools of lava coursed through the heart of the mountain, filling chasms, dripping from the upper levels to the lower levels, and filling every inch of the cavern in sweltering heat.

  “The orb is near,” Halcyon said as he pointed down a ledge that was, thankfully, not bathed in a river of fire. “We must get to it!”

  Incindir nodded, dashing across the cavern and hopping from platform to platform, wary of the sea of lava below. On the other side of the cavern was a series of tunnels that led into other caverns and more tunnels, a network of labyrinths that without Halcyon’s direction would have left Incindir searching for days, or maybe even weeks.

  “It’s over there!” Halcyon said as he pointed to a narrow ledge with pits of lava on both sides and stopped short by a waterfall of lava that blocked what lay behind.

  “Behind the lava?” Incindir asked, and Halcyon nodded. Incindir moved forward, and as he approached the wall of lava, he threw his hand to the left. The pouring lava followed his gesture, its stream being pulled to the right to allow him to pass.

  Once on the other side, Incindir saw a ring of rock, a ring of lava inside the outer ring, and finally an elevated rock formation with a glowing orb resting atop it. He rushed toward the orb and snatched it without a second thought.

  Incindir tucked the orb into his garment, dashed back, grabbed Halcyon, and waved aside the flow of lava again to exit to the other side. “Let’s get out of here before—“

  The purple-eyed executioner was waiting for them on the other side of the narrow ledge, blocking their only way out. It stood unmoving, like a shadow waiting for the one casting it to move.

  “Why are you following us?” Incindir asked, though he knew his question to be arbitrary. There could only be one reason for the executioner’s presence, and Incindir had never come by someone wielding a double-bladed scythe who was a friend.

  “It makes no difference,” she said. “You will be dead soon.” She raised her scythe like she was going to throw it at Incindir, but he was faster.

  With both hands he brought them up, then swung them together until his right hand was past his left arm and vice-versa. The two streams of lava that had risen from the pits below converged onto the executioner like a sandwich.

  Incindir did not find the respite that he was hoping for. The lava seeped back down into the pits, revealing a thick bubble where the executioner had stood moments ago. The shield collapsed inward and changed form into that of the familiar spiked armor of the executioner with not a hint of injury.

  “I need to release or we are going die,” Incindir said to Halcyon, “but I need time to release. Can you give me the time, maybe some of that impenetrable wall stuff?”

  “The more power I use, the less time we get to gather the orbs,” warned Halcyon, but his eyes had already gone bright white with power. He brought up his arms, summoning in front of them a wall of light.

  Like she tried before, the executioner cocked back her arm, ready to throw the scythe their way.

  “Wolf of ice and fire, Telaren,” Incindir chanted, “howl at the icy moon, blaze under the sun’s—“

  The executioner launched her weapon, and when it collided with the wall of light the wall shattered in a million pieces. With nothing to stop it, the weapon flew at Incindir faster than he could finish his summoning.

  Incindir jumped to the right off the ledge. He fell dozens of feet, pushing forward his hand to create a blast of flame that propelled him back up before he met a burning demise.

  But the jolt of movement in midair pushed the orb out of his garment, and though he was on his way back up onto solid rock, the orb was now the one falling into lava. With another gesture of his hand he summoned a pillar of ice starting from below the orb that pushed it back up into the air.

  As soon as his feet planted themselves he reached up to catch the orb—

  A dark mass flew from behind Incindir, grabbing ahold of the orb and shooting back toward the executioner. She caught the orb, the dark mass that had carried it shifting back into her scythe.

  Damn it.

  “Icy howl, fang of fire, Telaren!” shouted Incindir, his blade transforming to reveal its true colors. It wouldn’t make much difference now, even if he fought her with his full might. Summoning ice in such a hot place amplified the toll it took on his body, and if he had been hot before, he couldn’t describe what it felt like now.

  There was still one thing that he could try.

  The executioner raised her weapon again, and with no wall of light to protect them, Incindir had to act first. He raised his finger, pouring most of his remaining energy into one attack. The Fourth Flame shot out from his fingertip, shooting right at the executioner who made no motion to evade.

  It struck her in the face, boring a hole in between the eyes and coming out the other side. Her arm stopped before she threw the scythe, but she did not wilt as Incindir had hoped.

  To his shock, the hole only disappeared like skin regenerating from a cut—only a thousand times faster. As if nothing had happened, the executioner readied to throw the scythe—

  The caverns rumbled with the force of an earthquake, sending the three hurtling to the ground. Incindir reached out to grab ahold of Halcyon before the boy could fall into the pits, and the two watched as the cavern nearly crumbled on top of them.

  “The orb is not yours to take!” said a voice like two boulders smashing into each other. From the deepest pi
ts rose a creature of rock and lava with a vaguely humanoid form. At its full height it towered over them all, its large head reaching the ceiling of the cavern which was dozens of feet up.

  Another blasted Ancient One…

  And as it rose, so too did the pits of lava with no sign of calming. If they didn’t escape the deep network soon, they would find themselves trapped. It was fortunate, then, that the creature of rock and lava went straight for the executioner, smacking her with a boulder-sized fist and sending her flying.

  “Come on!” yelled Incindir as he took Halcyon and bolted down the now clear path. He scrambled through the series of tunnels and caverns with no regard whether they were going the right way or if either executioner or Ancient One were right at their heels.

  The quaking continued, as did the uncontrollable rising of lava flow that threatened to fill the entire network. If they were going the right way, Incindir could not tell. All he could do was push forward and hope for the best.

  He leapt over an overflowing chasm, his feet barely catching solid ground on the other side. Rocks and stalactites crashed around him from above, but unlike the caverns under Kolaine, he could not use his ice to shield him.

  Any further usage of ice would push him well beyond the limits of his body, and it was only through sheer will that he even managed to stay conscious in the scathing heat.

  And so all he could do was brace every time a jagged rock punctured his skin or cracked upon his head. A collapsed tunnel forced him to deviate his path, and then again when he came across a point where the level of lava had risen to engulf their path.

  “I don’t think we’re going to make it, Halcyon,” Incindir grumbled, though he did not stop.

  “We have to!” the boy shouted back.

  The roar of the Ancient One echoed throughout the tunnels, but when Incindir looked over his shoulder all he saw was overflowing lava seeking to engulf him. His proximity to the lava was so close that he felt his skin burning. He started to slow down, his legs sore and numb and failing.

  “Halcyon…” Incindir uttered between ragged breaths.

  A white luminescence shone on the walls as Incindir was wrapped in a bubble of light, holding off the lava from surrounding them.

  “I can’t afford to hold this for long,” Halcyon warned. “Every second I do is precious time lost.”

  Come on, damn it!

  With renewed vigor, Incindir charged up the tunnels. He no longer felt heat or pain, but rather a lifting numbness. Less and less lava boiled around them with every step, until the fire-lit walls died down and Halcyon’s light became the only thing keeping the darkness away.

  Halcyon ceased channeling the shield, and for the first time since they arrived in Falrethar, Incindir welcomed the cold. But still he did not stop. There was no telling if the executioner was still coming after them or if she survived at all.

  Judging from what he had seen from her, Incindir didn’t hold much hope for the latter.

  Snow greeted them as they appeared at the opening of a cave, sky and mountain coming into view. They stood close to a precipice, a deep gorge just a few feet from where they stood. Incindir looked to his right, finding a narrow passage that led down the side of the mountain.

  He set down his blade, then plopped down with his back against sturdy rock. Without hesitation, Halcyon came close and hovered his hands over Incindir. Cuts, bruises, and scuffs throughout his body vanished as if they had never happened.

  “Thank you,” Incindir said, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. “The orb is still in there, but how are we going to find it now?”

  “The orb is moving,” Halcyon said as he turned toward the mouth of the cave up the slope.

  “Did it fall into lava?” Incindir asked, a revelation dawning on him. “Are they indestructible?”

  Halcyon’s brows furrowed. “It’s moving in the same path that we did. It’s almost at the exit of the cave.”

  “Hurry and release me!” urged Telaren once they all realized what was happening.

  Incindir reached for his blade and bolted into a poised stance. Before he could even utter a word, the executioner’s form appeared at the mouth of the cave. She took no time in scouring for them, and when her eyes fell on the two, dashed in their direction.

  “This isn’t a winnable fight, Halcyon,” Incindir said, and he regretted even admitting it. He picked up the supplies ignored by the executioner and took the boy’s hand. He then stormed down the path away from their foe—and the orb that she had stolen.

  “But the orb!” Halcyon tried to argue, but his voice was lost in the howling wind.

  Incindir’s lungs started to hurt much sooner than he would have wanted, each big gulp of air feeling like he was only taking in a small breath. His legs told him to stop, but he ignored them.

  “Watch out!” Halcyon yelled, and Incindir dove to the side just in time to evade her scythe, snow being thrown about as it collided with the ground. Incindir staggered to get back up, almost slipping on ice as he built up speed again. Down the mountain they went, leaping across gorges, hopping from ledge-to-ledge, and hoping not to slip down to their deaths.

  They were halfway down the mountain when Incindir came to his limit, barely dodging the scythe that came at them again. He rolled, but failed to spring up again and came to a halt at his side. His heart felt like it would burst, his legs numb.

  Pick up your sword, you fool.

  Incindir shifted to the best stance that he could, but he had difficulty assuming a proper one. His shoulders hung low and his back slouched. The executioner marched toward them like inevitable death, her sharp edge ready to deal a finishing blow.

  Behind her, far off in the distance, the peaks began to move. The ground shook, a series of avalanches cascading down the moving mountains as white snow was replaced with blue scales. When a reptilian head appeared and roared, Incindir realized why he had thought that the mountains were moving.

  The peaks had been the spikes in the back of a dragon, one larger than any dragon that Incindir had ever seen. As it rose and stretched like one would after a deep slumber, Incindir saw wings that spanned a mile and a body length just as long. Just its tail seemed as long as a mountain was tall.

  “Look a dragon!” Halcyon exclaimed as he pointed at it.

  By the time that the executioner stopped to look behind her, the dragon was already upon them. Its massive head glared at them from above like a human would an ant. Incindir could feel its icy breaths on him, colder than the biting winds.

  “Trespassers, begone!” it roared in an ancient voice, powerful and resounding. It lifted up its arm, then slammed down its claw on top of the executioner, crushing her utterly and shattering the face of the mountain.

  Once more Incindir found himself bolting the other way, only this time it was from both dragon and ensuing avalanche bearing down on them. Incindir couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity.

  Could I even outrun a dragon that big?

  But even though he had been less than a hundred feet from the maw the size of a building just a moment ago, Incindir did not feel the dragon’s presence after them nor its shadow over them. He looked over his shoulder, finding just snow coming after them, the dragon’s attention turned elsewhere.

  “We can’t leave the orb,” Halcyon reminded.

  “We can’t go get it, either,” Incindir argued in between ragged breaths. “We need to find safety first… then we can think of what we are going to do.”

  They made it to the base of the mountain without being further attacked, and when the avalanche finally subsided, Incindir toppled over like an uprooted tree. Even down here he could hear and see the movements of the dragon from far away as it maneuvered over the mountains with, surprisingly, an agility that belied its size. It seemed to settle once more into a slumber, the spikes on its back returning to appear as a mountain range.

  “Are you okay?” asked Halcyon as he hovered over Incindir in search of a wound to heal.
>
  “I’ll be fine,” he replied, face half-buried in snow.

  “What will you do without protective clothing?” the boy asked, and Incindir found it amusing that Halcyon was still clothed in but a shirt and trousers, with no sign of stress on his body asking him about protecting himself.

  “I’ll insulate my skin with heat,” he explained as he pushed himself to a seating position. “It will cost some energy, but I can sustain it as long as I… damn it.”

  “What?” Halcyon asked.

  “We’re out of food,” Incindir said, rummaging through the pack and finding nothing but bait. He sheathed his blade and instead reached for the fishing pole. “If this doesn’t work now… let’s just say that those snow creatures might end up on the menu.

  Halcyon frowned. “But they’re so cute…”

  “Not the adults,” Incindir muttered as he led the charge away from the peaks. Just as he mentioned them, he saw the mounds of snow dotting the landscape all the way to the horizon.

  Only this time the creatures were running away in fear, though Incindir surmised that it wasn’t due to his presence. These creatures held some form of intelligence, and perhaps even sentience.

  “Never mind then, fishing it is,” Incindir said, to which Halcyon brightened.

  “Seafood!” the boy shouted.

  _ _ _

  Shushana waited for the dragon to return to its slumber.

  And by waited she meant remaining shattered into a million pieces, an unfortunate setback that allowed her key to escape. Beneath the snow the pieces came together like blood coagulating until it took shape. She reached for the orb, which was buried under the pile of snow like she was, though not even the force of a dragon had put a scratch on it.

  She dug herself out, then searched for the whereabouts of her target, and when she could not locate them she turned to the orb. When she focused on it, she felt the presence of all the other orbs on Ashkar—including the key and its guardian.

  They were not far. She would continue with hunting them down, then focus her efforts on the other ones. No power could stop her now, not even the strength of an entire kingdom, or even one of the Great Dragons for that matter. She had thought them returned to Ashkar by now like the rest of the Ancient Ones, but it made no difference.