Champion of the Gods Box Set

by Andrew Q. Gordon

  Clearing the water from around the spot, he gripped the makeshift weapon in both hands. Using his enhanced strength, he drove his weapon home in one swift movement. Nordric’s horn parted the thick scales like thin cloth. Farrell’s thrust sent it almost to the end of the wood. He let go and stomped on the butt to shove it deeper in the dragon’s chest before he flew away.

  Qurol convulsed so violently Farrell lost the watery grip on his enemy. He maintained the solid floor, but Qurol flailed unfettered. The dragon clutched for the stake in his chest, bellowing in pain and rage when he couldn’t reach it.

  “Hold him still,” Kel said.

  Farrell re-established a hold on the dragon. The pressure on his prison had diminished considerably as Rothdin moved closer with Kel. Farrell shifted the second column of water closer to Qurol’s head, and Kel slid off Rothdin’s back.

  His grandfather looked down and spat at Qurol. “You escaped your punishment for too long. When you see your master, tell Him Kel said He will lose again.”

  Yellow energy surrounded the spear in Kel’s hand. When he opened his fingers, the weapon sped off as if shot from a bow. The horn pierced Qurol’s skull to the left of a bony spike. Half the shaft disappeared before it stopped.

  Qurol’s eyes lost focus and finally the lids closed. His enormous body went still, and Farrell saw no signs of life. Farrell released the water and let the carcass of his enemy fall with it.

  He followed it down, and once in the water, he summoned the horns from Qurol’s body. As the body sank to the ocean floor, Farrell refilled his energy. He waited until the body hit the sandy bottom to be sure he was dead. Surrounding the body in energy, he dragged it with him to the surface.

  Rothdin, Kel, and Grohl circled overhead when he arrived.

  “It’s done.” He gave Kel his staff and put the two horns back in his pocket. He didn’t know what to do with them, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. “Let’s go.”

  No one asked where as he hualed the dead dragon toward the shore. Qurol’s defeat was a blow, but Meglar wasn’t going to let his army go to waste. It could and would inflict a lot of damage on his allies, and Farrell meant to keep it to a minimum.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Miceral watched Farrell until he and Grohl glowed in blue energy. He’d have kept his attention on them, but the dragon took to the air. The size difference scared him. As powerful as Farrell was, how could he defeat that?

  “He has gone to handle his part of the battle,” Marisa said. “Now you must focus on yours.”

  “How can . . .?” He looked away. “I don’t understand how he can fight that.”

  “It is one of the burdens of being joined to a powerful wizard.” She slid her hand between his arm and body. “What they find simple and natural, we struggle to comprehend. But it does no good to dwell on it. You must pay attention to your own safety. It will be a hollow victory for him if you are injured or worse because you were distracted.”

  The dragon’s awkward movement as he gained altitude lacked the grace of a peregrine. Despite Marisa’s admonishment, he scanned the sky again. Grohl and Farrell had become a tiny speck high above their adversary. Miceral let his gaze linger for a moment longer.

  “I wouldn’t worry about that.” He forced a smile. “Klissmor will not allow me to become distracted.”

  “No, I imagine he wouldn’t.”

  He walked her to her horse and helped her into her saddle. “Be safe. Penelope will never forgive you if you don’t come back.”

  Marisa’s expression changed. “She will need to find a way at some point. Unlike you three, I won’t be around for centuries.”

  “As you say, but there is no reason to hasten that day.” He hoped to find a sign she didn’t have a death wish.

  “You need not fear, I have every reason to return to Dumbarten. My daughter is far too young for just Penelope to handle.”

  Not totally satisfied, Miceral nodded and left to join Klissmor. Once mounted, they joined the other commanders.

  Wilhelm led the army of the western cities. Together they made up almost half the allied forces. They had the task of holding the center of the defenses. Marisa defended the south, and Trellham’s army formed ranks to the north. Miceral delegated command to Prince Ganfin as he was senior to Dondred.

  “Something’s happening.” Zenora moved closer to Darius. “Activate the defenses.”

  “Are you sure?” Darius asked. “I sense nothing.”

  “Trust me, I’ve felt this before.”

  Darius tapped his staff on the hard-packed dirt, and dozens of wizards pointed their staffs toward him. A milky cloud spread from the top of his staff.

  Zenora peered at the still-distant enemy lines. “Hurry, Darius. It’s about to be unleashed.”

  “You know I can’t rush this.” Darius closed his eyes. “Only a few more seconds and I will have covered the needed area.”

  She turned and pointed her staff at Darius. The nimbus around her staff pulsed and sent energy toward him. The other wizards did the same, and a flash of light forced Miceral to cover his eyes.

  The air around Garreth’s army warbled like heat rising off hot sand. Miceral had never seen people turned into Chamdon before. From the expressions he saw, the transformation was painful. Screams erupted from across the battlefield, followed by silence.

  Something struck the barrier Darius and the others erected. The barely perceptible bubble turned a smoky white. The effect traveled over the shield, and the dissipation followed the same pattern.

  “What just happened?” Miceral waved at the shield.

  “That was the spell used to change Garreth’s army into Chamdon,” Zenora said. “They don’t use it with precision.”

  “Why didn’t it affect the ones who remained human?”

  “His wizards know how to protect themselves. Anyone they don’t want changed, they give some kind of personal protection.” She turned to Darius. “Leave it up until we engage his wizards. After that, they’ll be too busy to try it again.”

  Miceral looked at the shield around them. “They never did that before. Not that I know of.”

  “They usually bring an army of Chamdon, not humans. Meglar only gives a handful of his most senior wizards the spell,” she said. “We need to get to the front.”

  Qurol roared overhead, and Miceral glimpsed the fight. Grohl moved around the lumbering dragon, and he could see a burst of light. Even if he didn’t need to focus on the battle about to start, he couldn’t help Farrell. That didn’t make him feel better, but it did help him focus.

  “Are you going to give the signal?” he asked Klissmor.

  “Let them hit the dwarves’ defenses first.” Klissmor trotted forward. “That will rob them of some momentum.”

  A sound Miceral had never heard before ripped across the field. “What in the Eight was that?”

  “The Arlefors have revealed themselves. They are attacking our enemy’s rear.” Klissmor moved a bit faster. “Nerti is about to do the same from the north. When our friends strike, then we can give the order to attack.”

  Another shriek from above reminded Miceral their victory depended on killing the dragon. He drew his sword and prepared to handle his part.

  With Qurol under attack, Zenora’s full senses returned. She scanned the enemy for their magical opponents and noted their positions.

  “One grand master wizard and three strong masters.” She turned to Darius and the others. “They count a large number of master wizards and many more journeymen. Given how many are needed to control the Chamdon, we have the advantage.”

  “We’re missing an important piece,” Darius said. “I don’t know what it is, but this isn’t their entire plan.”

  Zenora checked again but didn’t see anything she’d missed. “I don’t discount your suspicions, but I haven’t found anything to support your fears. Can you give me more?”

  “More? I have no facts to explain my apprehension. Like so much Meglar do
es, this doesn’t follow any plan I would deem prudent.”

  That she understood. “He doesn’t care who or what he sacrifices so long as he gets what he wants.”

  “But what does he want?” Darius raised an eyebrow. “It isn’t just our defeat. If it was, he’d have pressed us during our retreat. He didn’t even rush to hit us before reinforcements arrived.”

  “His generals didn’t know about the Arlefors or the Muchari with Heminaltose. Without those, the odds still favored Garreth’s army.”

  “Perhaps, but he could have crushed us before Miceral and Peter arrived. His position was much stronger before we added to our numbers.”

  “Agreed, but if Qurol defeats Farrell, our enemy will have a decided advantage.”

  Darius peered at the aerial fight. “I disagree. Once the peregrines became involved, they blunted his ability to cloud our minds. Without that, he becomes another wizard and the fight reverts to a numbers game.”

  “Which now favors us.” Zenora stared at the enemy.

  “Since the start of this war, we’ve been one step behind Garreth and his allies,” Darius said. “At every turn we reacted exactly as they wanted, and they’ve maneuvered us to a place of their choosing.

  “Now Meglar’s wizards have turned Garreth and his army into Chamdon. To me that says win or lose, Meglar has achieved his plans for this campaign. Everyone, including Qurol, is now expendable.”

  A burning stab of fear roiled inside Zenora. Turning Garreth’s soldiers into Chamdon was Meglar’s final move in this campaign. Since he’d achieved nothing of lasting consequence from the fight, the move validated Darius’s fears.

  “I agree,” she said. “But we must deal with this threat first or else we won’t live long enough to find out the rest.”

  Darius continued to stare across the field. Finally, his head bobbed the barest bit and he tore his gaze from their enemy. “Do you know these wizards?”

  “No, but they have to be people Meglar trusts.”

  The conversion of humans into Chamdon created chaos and disarray. The orderly formation of Garreth’s army looked like a herd of sheep when a wolf arrived. Zenora wanted to charge the beasts during the confusion, but Klissmor overruled her. Waiting for the others to attack from the rear might be prudent for the soldiers but not for wizards. The more Meglar’s wizards had to do, the harder it would be for them to get control of the chaotic mass.

  The grating sound from the south announced the Arlefors’ arrival. What little control the wizards had established over the Chamdon frayed in the blink of an eye.

  “Let’s go,” she said. “I want to get their attention before their grand master focuses on the Arlefors.”

  “I’ll send the word,” Darius said.

  Zenora struck the end of her staff down hard and released a sequence of preset spells. The ground between the two sides erupted in a firestorm of energy. Most of the attacks targeted the still rudderless Chamdon, but several took aim at the wizards. These snaked their way through the masses and targeted the nearest handler. She’d programmed the spells to find journeymen and weaker masters. Not only would they be more successful, it put more strain on the remaining handlers to get control of the army.

  Other wizards released more magical weapons. Darius and Belsport’s wizard constables had placed static defenses in the dirt. That made it harder for Meglar’s wizards to target the caster. She smiled at their cunning when the enemy focused on the ground and not the wizards who released the spells.

  Darius and the others used the misdirection to target the wizards who’d fired back. That set off the full-on arcane fight Zenora had hoped to provoke. The tight-knit clusters of constables proved as effective as a powerful master wizard. Their fighting skills far exceeded anything she’d seen from other collaborating wizards. It gave them a marked advantage in the fight.

  A powerful blow struck their shield, and she traced it back to the grand master she’d located earlier. She nodded to Darius and pointed to Tarnin to join her. From across the battlefield, she could see their four strongest opponents huddled together.

  “Should I summon Glendora and the others to join us?” Tarnin asked.

  Zenora checked the four wizards again. “We three should be enough.”

  They both turned to Darius. He nodded. “If you and I see the same thing, I think we can defeat them.”

  “And Heminaltose will be here soon,” she said and nodded north. “I don’t know that they are expecting him.”

  Darius’s lips cracked into a thin smile. “Even if they did, it wouldn’t help them. I’m sure he’s eager to pay Meglar back.”

  “More than eager.” She pulled out a few storage vessels and tucked them in her belt. She said a silent prayer to the Six that Haven’s wizards brought as much energy as they could with them. “Are you up for a challenge, Master Darius?”

  “Eh?”

  “Her aura is not much brighter than yours. Given your experience, I suspect you are at least her equal and likely her better. If you engage her, Tarnin and I will take out the other three.”

  Darius squinted at their foes. “And it will confuse them enough to give you an opening.”

  “Correct.” She squeezed the shaft of her staff tighter. “I’ll wager their plan is for two of them to engage you and Tarnin, and the third to support her attack on me. Once we determine how they pair off, I’ll target the three masters, with a focus on the one supporting her. Wait for him to focus on his self-preservation over hers before you step up your attacks.”

  Darius laughed. “That’s deviously brilliant. I’m glad you’re on our side.”

  “It only works because you trust me and Tarnin to help you if you need it. If she put this to her fellow wizards, they’d decline.”

  “Assuming she’d let them,” Tarnin said.

  “Well said.” Zenora liked Marisa’s cousin. Not only was he bright, he was stronger than he seemed. Penelope had helped him make the most of his talents. “If we’re agreed, let’s not wait for them to develop their own deviously brilliant plan.”

  She didn’t wait for their answer before releasing the spells she had ready. Her plan assumed the grand master and her underling didn’t combine their shields. Meglar didn’t encourage his wizards to collaborate, as that would be a threat to his reign. She felt safe using that fact in her calculations.

  The first few assaults struck the grand master’s shield. Tarnin slid between her and Darius, and the two coordinated a string of attacks on the other two wizards. Zenora’s first blow to the supporting wizard almost achieved her goal. The grand master’s face twisted in a snarl, and she barked an order at him. The man’s expression changed to fear, as he realized his fate.

  His hesitation played into Zenora’s plan. Darius immediately took up the attack on the grand master. Zenora and Tarnin strengthened their shields and focused on the now-flustered master.

  A hatred of Meglar and all things associated with him fueled her attacks. She used a new spell Kel had taught her to create continuous pressure on the man’s shield. Tarnin used the time to fire several exploding balls.

  As she hoped, Darius’s greater experience allowed him to more than hold his own. Where he appeared calm and focused, his opponent appeared more flustered with every failed attempt to breach his shield.

  Satisfied her allies were safe, Zenora turned her attention to the remaining wizards. They had been attacking her unmolested. Like fools trying to get a bull’s attention, their eyes widened in fear when they achieved their goal. Her staff spun and whirled as she fired a variety of powerful spells at them. Their responses faded as they spent their efforts protecting themselves.

  Tarnin grunted. The grand master had taken a page from their attack. She ignored Darius for a moment, hoping to take out the weakest of the three. Zenora shifted her attack to the woman, stepped in front of Tarnin, and extended her shield to cover him.

  “Are you hurt?” She could spare the moment to look at him.

  “Only my
pride. She struck as I was going for a killing blow. It disrupted my spell and the feedback hit me hard.”

  Relieved, she fired a trio of strong balls at the three master wizards. Darius had made his adversary pay for ignoring him, and she broke off attacking Zenora and Tarnin.

  “When you’re up to it, return fire on those two.” She pointed to the pair of master wizards. They used Zenora’s distraction to go on the offensive. “I’m going to take out the other and shorten this fight.”

  Without a word, Tarnin did as she asked. She directed her full attention at the now-shaky master wizard. The hope he’d found when his superior came to his aid had faded. Zenora rattled him with a succession of blue energy.

  “She’s bringing in reinforcements,” Darius said.

  Zenora surveyed the landscape. Several wizards had disengaged from their other duties and headed toward their commander. “See who can help and have them join us.”

  She didn’t listen for their answer; they’d do what they needed. “Queen Nerti?”

  “Yes, Queen Zenora?” There was a hint of playful mocking in her voice.

  “We need Heminaltose’s help dealing with the wizards.”

  “We’ve pushed through those sent to stop us and are about to hit the enemy from behind.”

  She held her reply and surveyed their enemy. Chamdon were set on a course, and their wizard handlers ran toward their leader. As Darius had said, the aim of this campaign had ended. “That might not be soon enough.”

  “Are you in danger?”

  “Not yet, but Meglar’s lead wizard just gave the Chamdon their last command. She is pulling all her wizards to help her attack us.”

  Had that been the plan? Was this fight to kill as many wizards in the west as possible? If this had become a numbers game, as Darius suggested, Qurol would have made a difference.

  “Heminaltose said he will fly to you.”

  “No!” Zenora tried to get all the pieces together. “Ask him if you can punch your way through. The Chamdon are without handlers. They won’t turn away when you hit them.”