Memlatec turned back to the queen’s audience chamber and knocked.
“Enter.”
“Your Majesty, excuse my intrusion. I was leaving and wondered why you dismissed all your guards?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would we dismiss the guards, we’ve servants close enough if we need assistance.”
After her last words trailed off, she looked up wide-eyed at Memlatec. Memlatec was equally alarmed. He checked the side door, but it was locked. He moved to the queen’s ornate council chair.
“Will your majesties withdraw behind this chair? Summon a lady-in-waiting.”
When the courtier didn’t respond, Memlatec rang the bell pull for a servant, but again no one came.
“Your Highness,” Memlatec said to the Prince Consort, “would you help me move these council chairs from around the walls to block movement within the room?” The prince and Memlatec immediately began moving the heavy mahogany chairs in a checkerboard pattern on either side of the council table. They put pairs of chairs together in front of the monarch’s. “An intruder won't be able to tell where the queen is.”
Memlatec went to the window’s edge and peeked out to see if there were any guards training in the courtyard. Whoever arranged to have the area around the council chamber cleared knows the palace and the queen’s activities, he thought. He grabbed a pen and paper.
“Majesty, please write ‘Come at once to the private audience chamber.’ She wrote and signed it. Memlatec opened the window and tossed out the note wrapped around a paperweight. When he turned back, he detected a trace of sulfur in the air.
“Will Your Majesty take refuge in that cabinet at the back of the room?”
“We won’t hide in our own palace, Memlatec.”
“You must be prudent, my dear,” Augusteros said.
The queen looked first at her husband, then at Memlatec. Her lip quivered as she turned and ducked into the cabinet. Wizard and prince consort sat in chairs facing the throne. Memlatec peeked around the side. The doorknob turned without sound.
“Did you see that?” Augusteros said.
Memlatec nodded but raised his finger to his lips. No one would dare enter a room, where the queen might be without first knocking and requesting permission to enter, he thought. Whoever is on the other side of the door is the Dark Lord’s agent.
The door slid open; it seemed like slow motion. One of the queen’s councilors entered the room. Prince Augusteros stood up.
“You must leave. We’re expecting trouble,” the prince said before Memlatec could react.
The councilor, a nobleman and advisor for years, had yellow eyes that flashed before narrowing and locking onto Augusteros. Memlatec snatched Augusteros down as a blue firebolt zipped from the councilor, striking the wall beyond the prince.
“What’re you doing?” Augusteros said, before seeing smoke rising from the charred wall. He spoke no more.
The man moved straight toward the prince, knocking over heavy chairs in his way.
“Stop!” Memlatec jumped up, hurling a wizard-fire bolt at the councilor. The man was dazed as well as possessed. The wraith controlling the nobleman had him focused on the queen and prince consort.
The man-wraith hurled a wizard-fire bolt at Memlatec but rushed on toward the royal couple through sulfurous smoke swirling in the room. Wizard and wraith exchanged fire bolts, but each seemed immune to the other’s strikes.
“Stop! Stop at once!” Augusteros said, popping up from behind his chair. His hand fumbled for his sword that wasn’t there.
“Get down!” Memlatec said.
The monster’s yellow eyes sparkled — a firebolt shot at the prince. Memlatec’s staff shot out, deflecting the shot. Sparks exploded on the wall.
The possessed man was almost at Augusteros, who stood frozen, staring at the approaching demon. Memlatec slipped and fell against his chair. The creature shot a bolt at him, burning the chair back. Memlatec stood, shoving the chair aside with a crash.
The queen’s head popped out of the cabinet.
The man-wraith, sporting a fiendish grin, turned his glare on the queen. His arm shot out.
The magician hurled a spell-induced bubble. It flew over the chairs, enveloping and imprisoning the man-wraith.
“What is it?” Augusteros asked, staring at the crazed nobleman, thrashing in the bubble.
Caught, the wraith discarded the man-shell. The dead councilor crumpled to the bubble’s base. The fiend struggled to free itself. It hurled a blue firebolt to pop the bubble, but the bolt bounced around inside with the wraith until it struck the dead councilor and reduced him to ash.
Memlatec muttered a spell and wrote runes in the air. The bubble shrank around the wraith, struggling to escape. As the bubble’s thin film shrank, it thickened until eventually, it shrank the wraith’s vapor, with the councilor’s ash, into a wrinkled ball on the floor.
Augusteros stood with his mouth agape. “I can’t believe the transformation of our councilor into the yellow-eyed devil I just saw.” Captivated, the prince approached the crumpled ball.
“Keep out of sight, Your Highness,” Memlatec said. “There may be others in the corridor.”
The prince immediately spun around, looking at the open door, then withdrew back behind a chair. “How many do you think there are? I wish I had my sword.”
“No way of knowing. Stay out of sight until your guards come and are again at the entrance.”
The wizard rose and kicked the film-enshrouded wraith into the fireplace. He shot a bolt of wizard-fire, and it burst into flames, consuming both film and wraith. The wizard moved along the wall to the door. He raised his wand and drew a mystic veil across the doorway.
“That may stop anything trying to get through it.”
The wizard looked through the veil into the corridor. There was no one there. This must’ve been an isolated wraith taking a chance at destroying the queen, he thought. A lone creature could get further in the palace than a brigade of soldiers could. It was a very powerful being indeed to be unaffected by the daylight.
Rattling armor preceded the guards, who soon appeared at the door. Memlatec released the veil, opening the portal at the far end of the private corridor. Soldiers rushed down it to the queen’s rescue.
“What took you so long?” Augusteros asked.
Memlatec raised his hand to halt the troops and cast a spell over them.
“That soldier at the back gives off a pale glow,” Augusteros said.
Unmasked, the wizard hurled a wizard-fire bolt at Memlatec as he turned to flee. The older, wiser wizard used his wand to deflect the bolt. He hurled one back at the creature. The imitation guard burst into flames and ash fluttered to the floor.
With sword drawn, the guards’ sergeant dashed up to Memlatec. “Stand behind me!”
The sergeant turned to defend Memlatec from further attack. He hunched down with knees bent, and shield raised, muscles taught. His eyes searched for anything moving in the passageway. Memlatec checked the room and hall and found no more evil present.
“You may station the guards outside the doors, Sergeant,” Memlatec said. “There are no more evil creations among your men.” After the guards left, Memlatec closed the council chamber door.
“The threat has passed, Your Majesties.”
The queen came out of the cabinet and joined the prince.
Through the open window, Memlatec caught sight of a large raven perched on a roof ledge across from the audience chamber. The raven was intent on surveying the room. Seeing the guards back on duty, and then the queen unharmed, it flew up and headed north. Memlatec flashed his hand in a gesture to Fedra, pointing at the raven. The eagle rose and flew straight for the black bird, caught it in one claw, and tore it to pieces.
“That should leave the Dark Lord in suspense as to his plot,” Memlatec said. He turned to the royal couple. “I apologize for the indignity of the situation, but the cabinet was the only place to hide Your Majesty.”
&nb
sp; “We thank you for our lives, Memlatec,” Eleatsubetsvyertsin said. She stood up straight.
“You realize the Dark Lord must have infiltrated the whole of the South if he would attempt to attack you, the royal couple, in Konnotan.”
The queen nodded but said nothing.
When he returned to his tower, Memlatec created a wand and instilled in it the power of an invisibility veil. He gave it to the queen to keep on her person at all times. He instructed her on the use of it and told her if attacked, to use it to disappear until help arrived.
The monarchs returned to the business of governing the nation, but the innocence of the court was gone from them.
* * *
Saxthor steered the orc boat southwest all night through the black Edros Swamps. The others poled through the bottom’s foul ooze or rowed using the oars like spoons through pudding in the black water. Moonlight danced a golden color off the ebony surface. Only rotting tree branches pierced the light, or ripples from moving things that lived in this hostile environment. Once in the night, they thought they saw a light. As they approached it, they saw it was moonlight reflecting off the skull of a saber-wolf caught on a crooked tree branch.
“This is so depressing,” Bodrin said. “Shades of charcoal are everywhere to the horizon. There’s a constant smell of decaying vegetation here even with the breeze.”
“What was that?” Tonelia asked for the umpteenth time.
“The same nothing as the last time you asked,” Bodrin said.
“We could light finger-torches, but that would draw things we don’t want to see,” Tournak said.
“Things live out here, where nothing should live,” Hendrel said.
“In this small, frail boat, we don’t want to do battle with anything,” Saxthor said. “Try to keep the talk down and to a whisper. We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves.”
Organic matter decayed under the black water with no oxygen, giving off a rotten egg smell. Gases from the decay below bubbled up here and there, as they passed. Trails of bubbles followed them, where they poled through the thick black ooze. A slick black coating clung to the poles.
“It’s like the coastal marshes at low tide mixed with sulfurous oils and tar,” Tournak said. “The whole swamp is an ocean of decaying sludge.”
“There’s something ahead and to the right,” Hendrel said. He half-rose from his seat and thrust his arm out pointing.
As it swam into the stream of moonlight, the large creature appeared deep green with silver moonlight reflecting off the edge of each scale. Its undulating, snake-like body was huge; maybe the length of five men, but it had two sets of flippers, a serrated dorsal fin, and a dragon’s head. The creature swam by whipping its body up and down, flippers paddling powerful strokes. The unnerving, rhythmic sound of flippers slicing the water reached the boat.
“What’s that?” Tonelia asked.
The creature turned its head, exposing two yellow eyes, staring in their direction. The barbels around its mouth tasted the air and water for prey’s scent. The creature watched the boat, its large eyes, turning fiery red. After a moment of flicking its split tongue and staring, the creature hissed a high-pitched hiss and plunged underwater.
“Where did it go?” Tonelia asked.
“I forgot to ask,” Bodrin said.
The crew jerked left and right looking, fearing the creature would attempt slipping onto the boat. They rowed hard to get a safe distance from the water-dragon imagining they saw it, or another like it, from time to time.
“I think we’ve eluded the creature,” Hendrel said.
Then splashing and a frantic struggle erupted not far away. Tournak flicked a finger-torch to see the source. A gray creature with the head of a toothy lizard and body of a fish, the length of a man, was flailing in a water-dragon’s mouth. The reptilefish was slapping head and tail on the water, attempting to tear itself from the dragon’s jaws, while snapping at its captor but unable to bite it.
“First water-dragons and now reptilefish,” Bodrin said.
“What’s it doing?” Tonelia asked. She moved from side to side, straining to see.
“The dragon thing has some sort of reptile-headed fish in its mouth,” Saxthor said. He looked at Tonelia; she was shaking.
The water-dragon spotted the boat, then dove with the reptilefish still flapping in its jaws. The eerie night went silent, ripples, slapping against the boat the only sound.
“Row on,” Saxthor said.
The crew again rowed as Saxthor steered southwest, watching the water for movement. The moon had gone in the dark predawn, and a chilly night breeze blew over the open water.
“Stop that,” Tonelia said. “I’m not in the mood.” She looked at Bodrin on her left.
“Stop what?” he asked, rowing.
“Your hand on my knee.”
Both Bodrin’s hands were on the oar. She looked down and saw a hand almost twice the size of a human’s, with membranes between the fingers and long claws instead of fingernails. Scales covered its arm. Tonelia froze, staring, unable to scream.
Bodrin looked to see what she was staring at. He jumped up in the boat with sword flying from scabbard. Leaning over Tonelia, he whacked off the arm, where it came over the boat. Green blood shot from the stump.
The water-dragon’s head exploded up through the oars and shrieked. The creature hissed; flames shot from its nostrils — a glare of rage and pain cast at the boat.
“It’s taking stock of us,” Tournak said.
The water-dragon dove into the opaque water. Ripples slammed the boat tossing the people, who grabbed the boat sides.
“Cripes!” Bodrin said. “Pull in your oars.”
The crew drew their weapons poised for an attack, but the creature didn’t resurface. When no attack came, they laid their swords within reach, grabbed the oars, and rowed like mad until dawn, when Astorax spotted something.
“There’s an island over to the right.”
“Where?” The others asked.
They stopped rowing and searched the horizon for the island that might get them off this black ocean of death. In a flash, they were again rowing with renewed energy.
“It’s not much of an island,” Bodrin said.
“I can see about a dozen trees with gnarled trunks,” Astorax said. “They must be the last of these sick and dying scrub oaks. None has more than one or two knobby branches with leaves.
Hendrel sighed. “A few tufts of grass are about the only other plant life on the landmass.”
When the boat reached the shore, the crew could find no source of drinking water. A lizard darted by, heading for one of the trees, and a few pieces of driftwood dotted the shore.
“Well, at least we get to stretch our legs,” Tonelia said.
After rowing around the island to be certain it was safe, they landed.
“Be sure to tie the boat to something large so the wind won’t blow it out on the water,” Tournak said.
Tonelia started a fire, and the others collected driftwood. As the morning wore on, the breeze died down, and a swarm of nasty biting flies descended. The things swarmed in the millions until it was almost impossible to see or breathe.
“Let’s get away from here,” Tonelia said. “Only standing in the drifting smoke keeps the flies away. It’s choke to death or be eaten alive.”
They gobbled their food, smoked themselves well, and rushed back in the boat to continue on southwest. They traveled all day and late in the afternoon spotted another small island. Again, they rowed to it, and again, found the same conditions but at least flies didn’t cover it.
“We’ll cook a meal here using what we brought,” Saxthor said. “We can’t eat anything from this swamp that I’ve seen.”
“The swamp itself must poison even the reptilefish,” Tournak said.
“Do we attempt to stay the night on the island, or do we sail on?” Hendrel asked.
“We should get some rest here,” Tournak said.
&nb
sp; “I don’t want to spend another night out on the water,” Tonelia said. “The boat’s too cramped, and I’m not anxious to be on the water in the dark with those water-dragons.”
“Put out the fire,” Saxthor said. “Be sure it doesn’t smolder. Orcs out on the water will investigate smoke and trace it here. “Bury any leftovers that might draw hungry predators, too.”
The group prepared for night and then, with the boat tied securely, huddled together between two trees for the night. Each wrapped up in a blanket.
*
In the night, Tonelia took Bodrin’s sword with her when she went down to a pile of driftwood for privacy to answer the call of nature. She’d just finished when something slithered from the nearby water into the driftwood.
“Bodrin, is that you?” she asked.
There was no response, and she froze. She heard it move closer through the shifting driftwood branches. Her heart pounded, but she was too terrified to jump and run. She raised the sword over her head with both her hands. A cloud moved past, and in the moment before another cloaked the moon, the light shone through on something the size of her leg not two feet from her.
“Cripes!”
She slammed down the sword whacking the glistening black thing in two. A piece thrashed in among the gnarled wood. Tonelia jumped up and ran back up to the others, who were still asleep.
Well, I’ve killed it. No need to wake them, Tonelia thought.
Bodrin shuffled in his sleep, and Tonelia lay down next to him, putting his sword back within reach. She eventually calmed down enough to sleep.
The next morning, Bodrin woke first and found his sword with dried blood all over it. “Cripes! What’s happened to my sword?”
Tonelia woke, yawning and stretching, “Oh, I whacked something last night down by the water when I went to take care of business.”
“Well, you’re mighty calm about it.”
Hendrel walked down to the driftwood tangle to relieve himself. “Hey, y’all, come here.”
“What is it?” Astorax asked.
The N Arc of Empire- Complete Series Page 65