Alderan grabbed the sides of his head and pulled on his hair. “Rayah!”
“What’s happening?” Concern lined Nardus’s brow.
Tears blurred Alderan’s vision. “She can’t die. I won’t let her.” His body tingled with mezhik. Nardus reached for him, but then he no longer stood atop the great wall.
Chapter Forty-Four
A brilliant white light roused Rayah. She tried to sit up, but every muscle and bone in her body ached, especially the right side of her face. As she became more alert, she realized she couldn’t see out of her right eye at all.
“Relax, my love.”
Rayah knew that voice but couldn’t place it. In fact, she couldn’t place herself either. The last thing she remembered was a barge ride across the river.
Blonde locks draped over Rayah’s face, and light shocks twinged the right side of her face. “What’s happening?”
“I’m healing you. Keep still.”
It’d been awhile since she’d felt the touch of mezhik and had forgotten the way it shocked her skin with tiny static charges. The ache in her jaw lessened, and light began to reach her right eye. A few minutes later, she could see again, and the handsome young man leaning over her overjoyed her.
“Alderan!”
“The one and only.” His brow furrowed further as he concentrated on Rayah’s neck. “Ah, there we go.”
The shocking sensation ceased and Alderan rose to his feet. Rayah sat up and worked her jaw and neck. No physical pain lingered, but her memories of the fight with Käíeƨ flooded her mind and brought her to tears.
Alderan made quick work healing Rakzar, Urza, and Ridan but made no move to heal Normak.
Rayah got to her feet and wiped her face. “You still need to heal Normak. What are you waiting for?”
The others stood around Normak but said nothing. She stormed over to the circle and was about to demand answers, but Normak’s gaping mouth and dead-eyed stare stole her breath.
“Dear Ƨäʈūr!” Rayah fell on her knees and touched Normak’s cheek. His cold skin sent waves of grief through her. Despite his inappropriate advances and lewd comments, she’d grown fond of him. He’d saved her life more than once.
Rayah stood back up and embraced Ridan. She repeated “I’m sorry” over and over, but the young dwarf showed no emotion. Instead, she shoved Rayah away and knelt at Normak’s feet.
It took Rayah a moment to realize that Ridan was removing Normak’s boots. It made sense. She probably would’ve done the same had it been Alderan.
Once Ridan finished removing the boots she looked up at Rayah. “Will you bury him?”
Rayah nodded solemnly. “Absolutely, but shouldn’t his body be taken back to Tectus?”
“Once I’ve settled the score with those orcs, I’ll come back for him,” said Ridan.
“What score?” asked Urza.
Ridan glanced toward Rakzar. “You said that the orc leader, Murtag, commanded Käíeƨ to curse you, right?”
“Yeah.” Rakzar physically tensed.
“Then it’s him I’m going after.” Ridan took the boots and stuffed them into a large, leather saddlebag on Bakkan’s back. “I won’t rest until he’s dead.”
“Fair enough,” said Urza.
Rakzar dragged Normak’s body away from the shoreline and to a spot with more sand than rock. Rayah sank into the sand and pulled Normak’s body down with her as far as she could. Despite his small stature, Normak weighed a ton. Satisfied she’d done what she could, she rose back out of the sand. Ridan marked the grave with two grayish-white stones.
Godspeed, Normak, and may Ƨäʈūr’s light shine upon you.
“Thank you.” Ridan looked north. “Now, those bastards will pay.” She mounted Bakkan, dug her heels into his ribs, and they took off up the shoreline.
“I’m going with her.” Rakzar dropped on all fours and took off after Ridan.
Urza reached down and squeezed Rayah’s shoulder. “I can’t let my brother fight alone.”
Rayah nodded. “I understand.”
“Be safe, my friend.” She lunged forward and onto all fours and soon disappeared into the distance.
Rayah wrapped her arms around Alderan’s waist. “I don’t know how you found us, but I thank Ƨäʈūr that you did.”
Alderan shrugged. “You called for me and somehow I wound up here.”
“You must’ve teleported here, and then you healed us all.” She hugged him harder. “Have you finally learned how to use your mezhik?”
“No, I just knew I couldn’t let you all die. It’s all I thought about. The mezhik just flowed from my hands.” He kissed the top of her head.
Rayah gasped and pulled away. “I almost forgot that the orcs are headed to attack Vallah. I must warn them!”
“Drat!” Alderan pulled on his hair. “Most of their forces have gone down to Elatos. They’re not prepared for a ground attack.”
Rayah grabbed his hand. “Then we’d better get back and warn them.”
“You go, Rayah. You’re much faster than I am.” He shook her hand away. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Can you teleport over there?” she asked.
Alderan shrugged. “How?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could just think about being at the city gates and take a step toward them.”
Alderan faced Vallah. His eyes narrowed, and the left side of his face rose as he sneered. He took a step forward but remained on the beach. He grumbled, “This isn’t working, and we’re wasting time. Just go!”
The last thing Rayah wanted was to separate herself from him again, but she knew he was right. Vallah must be warned as soon as possible.
She fluttered off the ground and kissed Alderan on the lips. “I love you!”
“Love you, too.” His tone sounded dejected.
Rayah wanted to stay and lift his spirits but didn’t have the time. Instead, she turned and flew toward Vallah.
Ƨäʈūr, let me get there before the orcs do.
Chapter Forty-Five
Savric and Zerenity stood atop the King’s Palace. Smoke rose far to the south, and the sight of it disheartened him. It wouldn’t be long before Elatos itself burned.
Ƨäʈūr, watch over Calen and Eshtak. Keep them safe for me.
Zerenity moved close and rested her hand over his on the railing. He fought the urge to flick it away. His mind still warred with his heart over her actions while under Cinolth’s influence. The thought of what Qotan might be doing in Cinolth’s name weighed heavy on him as well.
“Look at me, Savvy.” Her voice trembled.
He turned toward her with reluctance and a deep sigh. “What is it I am supposed to see?”
Zerenity squeezed his hand. “Tell me I’m not the love of your life. Tell me you no longer love me. I need closure before we head into battle. This might be the end for one or both of us. Have you not thought of that?”
So many years later, wrinkles and all, her beauty still took his breath away. Given their history and the way he’d accused her of mistreating Qotan for so long, he had no self-righteous ground to stand upon. Her smile and the tears glistening in her eyes broke down the walls he’d erected around his heart. His anger toward her dissipated, and urgency tugged at his heart.
“Reni…” His voice shook almost as much as his hands. “…nothing and no one will ever take your place in my heart. As usual, I have been a fool. I know your heart, and I know you. The actions you took while entranced by Cinolth were ones I know you would never make on your own. Please forgive this old fool.”
Zerenity rose on her tippy-toes and kissed Savric. “There is nothing to forgive, darling. Knowing you are fighting at my side strengthens me.” She glanced to her right, and her eyes bulged. “Cinolth’s nearly here!” She pulled Savric’s arm with such force that it nearly took him to the ground.
“Feathers, woman,” grumbled Savric. He rubbed his arm. “I still have eyes
and need of my arm.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” she asked.
Savric ignored her and drew upon his mezhik and that which was stored in the bracelet Nardus gave him. With all his strength, he slammed the butt-end of Qotan’s staff down onto the palace roof and shouted, “Ƨzhäəlld əllíʈ!”
A brilliant, yellow light shot up from the staff’s orb, about fifty feet in the air, and began spreading outward in an ever-expanding circle. Cinolth roared and spewed a column of fire toward the lowest section of Vallah, but Savric’s light shield managed to reach that point just before the fire did. The shield held and absorbed the fire, but Savric felt the effects of the attack all the way down to his toes. With the bracelet, he’d be able to keep the shield active for a solid week, but every blast of fire would eat into that time. Barring a miracle, Vallah would eventually fall.
Ƨäʈūr, we are counting on You to save us.
† † †
Zerenity found Druden in front of the palace watching the sky. She walked up next to him. “It’s time.”
Druden twisted his long mustache between his fingers and thumbs. “So it is.”
“How close do you need to be to the water?” she asked.
“With this?” He thumbed the bracelet Nardus had given him. It barely fit on his thick wrist. “Here’s good. Any closer, and we’d be vulnerable. Not to mention that it’d be harder to track Cinolth.”
“Agreed. Have you ever combined your mezhik with someone else’s before?”
Druden shook his head. “Nope. Never crossed my mind to do such a thing.”
“Then I will guide us.” She closed her eyes for a moment and took a long breath.
He pulled the sleeves of his robes up to his elbows. “What do you want me to do?”
“Start conjuring the water titan, and I will intertwine my mezhik with yours and strengthen the water titan with vines of seaweed.”
Druden cleared his throat, pointed his hands toward Trivers Lake, and began drawing runes in the air with his fingers.
The calm surface of Trivers Lake began churning. Waves formed and crashed, and then two columns of water began to rise up from it.
Zerenity moved closer, placed one hand on Druden’s shoulder, and began drawing runes of her own. The warmth of mezhik filled her, and she began pushing it through Druden’s shoulder and into the runes he continued to draw. A dark mass moved beneath the columns of water and started twisting and climbing up through the middle of them.
As her own energy waned, she began drawing upon the energy stored in her bracelet.
Ƨäʈūr, guide our hands.
† † †
From the corner of his eye, Rakzar glimpsed something rising out of the lake but didn’t have time to see what it was. Losing even a second of focus would guarantee his failure to catch Ridan.
“Ridan, wait!” yelled Rakzar. He wasn’t sure she’d hear him over the increasing roar of water.
The dwarf girl’s stubbornness nearly matched his. She looked back but didn’t slow as she reached the mouth of the Hotah River. He pushed himself harder and gained ground on Bakkan, but the mastiff seemed to have boundless energy. If he didn’t catch them soon, he never would.
Urza bolted past him, and it spurred his anger. How could she outrun him after being so sick and sluggish of late? The answer hit him and nearly tumbled him to the ground.
Killing Käíeƨ must’ve worked!
Relief washed over him, and the burden he’d carried for weeks fell away. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so tired and worn out. He lowered his head and ran faster, overtaking Urza and closing the distance to Bakkan and Ridan. Five more strides, and he’d catch them. Lunging forward, he caught Bakkan’s hind legs. The three of them crashed to the ground and tumbled a good ten feet before coming to a stop.
Ridan moved quick, jumping to her feet and wielding her spear. She had it pointed at Rakzar’s face before he had a chance to get to his feet. “I will kill ya if ya try and stop me.”
Rakzar held up his hand. “Listen to me, Ridan. I want Murtag dead more than you can imagine, but storming into a horde of orcs will do nothing but get you killed.”
“Ya think I care about death?” She spat on the ground. “That thing back there took away the only person I’ve ever loved. I’ve nothing left to live for except vengeance.”
“And what about Torbrek? I saw the way you looked at him.”
Urza caught up and slid to a stop, her eyes wide. “Look across the river! The orcs are storming Vallah as we speak.”
Ridan and Rakzar both turned toward the east. The orcs had fashioned crude ladders and used rope and grappling hooks to scale the tall, white walls. What looked like only a few dozen soldiers fought to fend them off.
Rayah came zooming up to the three of them. “We’re too late!”
Rakzar peered down the shore. Rayah had come alone. “Where’s the White Knight?”
“On his way, but he’s much slower than we are.”
“Maybe he should’ve taken the boots,” said Urza.
“Over my dead body.” Ridan glared at the three of them. “The orcs attacking Vallah changes nothing. I’m still going after them and will kill as many as I can.” She mounted Bakkan.
“We’re all going,” said Rayah. “Let’s get back to the barge and get across the river.”
Rakzar had little hope of Ridan and Rayah surviving for long, but he and Urza couldn’t be killed by the orcs because of the blood bond Pravus created between gnolls and orcs, so at least there was that.
But I can’t let them die.
Ridan dug her heels into Bakkan’s sides, and they took off again. Urza and Rayah followed her.
Rakzar waited a few moments to see if Amicus would make an appearance, but he never did.
“Figures.” Rakzar took off after Bakkan and the three girls.
† † †
Aria shot two fireballs into the light shield as she mindspoke with Cinolth, “There’s no way that old wizard will be able to keep that light shield up for long. Keep attacking it.”
Cinolth banked back around. “We’ve got a bigger problem.”
A watery fist slammed into his underbelly. They plummeted several dozen feet before Cinolth recovered. Aria turned and focused her mezhik on the massive water beast standing in the lake. It must’ve been a hundred feet tall.
Aria’s eyes bulged. “What in Centauria is that?”
“A water titan, but there’s something different about it. That watery punch was far stronger than it should’ve been.”
“What kind of mezhik should I use against it?”
Cinolth circled the beast and avoided several swipes from its massive fists before answering. “Perhaps we can boil the water below its knees with my fire and your fireballs—”
“—and literally sever its legs.” Aria finished.
“Yes.”
Cinolth dove toward the water titan’s feet, and Aria readied several fireballs.
Chapter Forty-Six
Pravus still raged over Cyrus. Everything he did to bolster their numbers and strike fear in the hearts of their enemies had been thwarted far too quickly. Not only that, but it’d cost him most of his energy. Thankfully, he knew the secret to replenish it quickly. It was the only thing he’d learned from Cinolth.
He called two soldiers over and drained the life from them with nothing more than a simple touch. The soldiers fell to the ground in a heap, nothing more than husks of human skin and bone encased in armor. His strength restored, Pravus mounted his horse and rode toward the wall of water.
Cinolth’s legion of infected drove right into the wall of water that separated them from the great wall of Elatos, driven by the madness of their master. Many of them drown within the first fifteen feet, their bodies ejected from the water wall. He assumed that some of them made it through, but they’d certainly be picked off on the other side. Not having any control over them frustrated him.
A few of the wizards engineered tunnels through the water wall using earth, air, and ice, but each of them collapsed within a few minutes of being built. They’d have to wait out whatever force kept the water wall suspended. It wouldn’t be long. The amount of energy a feat like the water wall would take left him wondering who had that kind of power aside from Cyrus.
Have we underestimated our enemy?
Minutes later, the water wall came crashing down with a thunderous roar, taking a thousand soldiers and creatures with it as it dispersed back into the Hotah River. The army surged forward through the receding waters and reached the great wall within minutes. Arrows rained down on them, but dozens of strategic strikes with fireballs scorched the defenders and set the wall ablaze. A fairly dry winter had left the great wall parched and ripe for fire.
Credan rode up next to Pravus. The older man looked ridiculous atop a horse. “Everything is progressing according to plan, my lord. I’ve ordered the men to ditch most of the siege equipment since it seems we won’t be needing it.”
“Good.”
With the raging fire weakening the wall and eight giants using a massive felled tree as a battering ram, the large gates stood no chance of holding. A loud crack of wood confirmed it. The gates shuddered with each strike and finally buckled. Two more blows busted them open. Steel met steel once again, and the sounds of war rose to match that of the raging fire.
Pravus cracked his knuckles. “Elatos will burn to the ground within the hour, and the Three Kingdoms will become the Two Kingdoms.”
“Yes, my lord,” confirmed Credan. “Victory is all but guaranteed.”
Pravus flexed his hand and made a fist.
I am becoming a god.
† † †
When the water wall came down, the hope of saving Elatos fell with it. Nardus stood on the harbor with Theyn and Prince Rictar, his focus directed across the lake. With the water titan risen and the light shield erected over Vallah, Cinolth and Aria had their hands full. Soon, they’d have him to contend with as well.
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