Dragon King Charlie

by Scott Baron

  The ultimatum was simple. Fight for me or die. And it would not be a good death. So, they suited up in their finest armor, sharpened their swords, and marched to war. The four guards closest to her were now sporting thin golden bands around their necks. Originally taken by King Horgund when she had come to be his mistress, Malalia had reclaimed the magical collars as her rightful property, salvaged from the dead on her crashed ship.

  No one else could use them, nor could they have melted them down with their primitive technology. But she could put them to their original use, and as a result, the men guarding her would do her bidding without hesitation.

  And so it was she rode to the farm where Charlie and his friends hid, her army at her heels, ready to engage his. Of course, the fighting of piddling little humans was of no real consequence. Men would die this day, but their deaths would just be for show. The real battle would play out between her and the two power wielding men.

  And Charlie, it seemed, now possessed some magic of his own. The residual feel of it on her body after his counterattack smelled like Zomoki. He was bonded with the mighty beast, but in her former, lesser state, she simply could not sense it.

  “Two miles!” the scout reported as he raced back to the farm.

  Captain Sheeran sat on a bale of hay, enjoying what might be his last day’s sun. After a surprisingly refreshing cup of cool water offered by his king personally, he had to admit, he felt good. Better than good, actually. Sheeran felt great. ‘To your health, and a long life’ they had toasted, and that was exactly as the king intended.

  Charlie and Bawb sat with him, armed and comfortable in warm over-cloaks. Hunze was waiting just behind them with Leila and Baloo. There was no sense in staying far away. A battle of this order would make such precautions moot anyway.

  At their feet, the packs of magical weaponry lay waiting, ready to be handed off to Charlie and Bawb as needed. They would drain one dry and toss it into one bag, reloading, in essence, from the other. They also had the bottles of the healing Balamar waters, though Charlie wasn’t sure how exactly they might use them. They healed, but against Malalia’s onslaught, they might not be able to do so fast enough.

  Leila had suggested they might try to devise a delivery method to launch at Malalia.

  “Water balloons?”

  “Bawb chuckled,” I have to admit, it is a clever thought. If she truly has absorbed Wampeh blood, perhaps she will react to it as my kind do.”

  “Yeah, it’s a creative idea, Bob, I agree. But there’s one little problem there. What if she doesn’t.”

  “Then she won’t combust,” Leila said.

  “And we will have just healed her and made her even stronger,” Charlie added.

  The queen blushed slightly. “Oh, yeah. So, I guess back to plan A.”

  The four of them shared a laugh in the face of death, their bond as close as ever.

  And then there was Rika joining the party. The violent woman was still bound and gagged, but surprisingly seemed far less feral than the night before. She sat on the ground, Baloo’s massive form standing guard over her. After he gave her another drink of water that morning, Charlie insisted she be kept close at all times, and the others agreed.

  It was odd, knowing they might all die this day, but strangely, they all were in good spirits. They had arrived on this world as mere friends, but whatever happened today, they would now face it together as family.

  “There are men hidden on either flank, deep in the woods. It’ll take them a good five minutes to reach us once the signal is given, but having them that far out is the only way to keep them from her scouts’ eyes,” Captain Sheeran said as the dust and rumbling of Malalia and her army grew closer in the distance.

  “And the pits?”

  “All dug and covered, Sire. Their cavalry will be slowed, and quickly, if they attempt a frontal charge.”

  “A damn waste of horses if they do,” Charlie said, reluctant to harm the innocent animals.

  “War is waste, Sire. Rarely does much good come of it, so we do what we can to minimize the losses. Horses are valued animals, yes, but given the choice between a horse and a man, I’ll take the man.”

  “Unless it’s one of Malalia’s troops of course.”

  “Well, naturally,” he added with a laugh. “Though I doubt many are fighting of their own free will. Why, nearly a quarter of the men present at the battle last night fled with us, and those not still running stayed and joined our ranks.”

  “No traitors, among them?”

  “I like to think I’m a good judge of character, Sire. After what they saw that woman do to their king last night, I do not believe a drop of loyalty to that tainted crown remains in them.”

  “Good.”

  “Aye, we need the men.” Sheeran gazed at the forces hiding in the shadows of the woods. “And if they do turn on us, I’ve ordered all of our men to smite them with extreme prejudice.”

  Charlie couldn’t help but laugh at the exclamation. “Oh, my. Thank you, Captain. I needed that.”

  “My pleasure to serve, Sire,” he said with a wry grin.

  The Dragon King scanned what would soon be a battlefield with his keen eyes. The troops were spaced out, a good portion of them hidden both behind the farm buildings as well as in the fields. Others still were obscured by the treeline, their exact numbers harder to gauge by their positioning.

  Charlie wanted to give them the best chance he could, making it difficult for Malalia to target them. Or at least make it as difficult as was in his ability. This was Visla Yoral Maktan’s daughter he was dealing with, after all, and who knew what she might try.

  Chapter Sixty

  The column of armored men arrived at a leisurely pace, led by their queen, her collared guards surrounding her. Bawb’s sharp eyes caught the glint of the golden metal from his galaxy even from a distance.

  “Control bands around some of their necks. The ones directly beside her at the least, though I can’t tell if there are more.”

  “It doesn’t’ matter. They’ll all fight regardless. They know she’ll just kill them herself if they don’t,” Charlie said, grimly.

  “It will bring us no honor killing these men,” Sheeran said. “But we do what we must to ensure victory. Even if that means harming those we would otherwise shelter. Once they take up arms against us, that is all that matters on the battleground.”

  Malalia sat there across the field that would soon be stained red with blood, casually watching them from atop her horse. She dismounted and strode to a hay bale to step upon for a better view. The horse would surely buck and flee when she started casting her spells, and that just would not do.

  “I can feel it from here,” Charlie said. “Can you feel that, Bob?”

  The Wampeh’s jaw flexed slightly. “Oh yes, my friend. She has recovered from her childbirth. And she is strong.”

  Malalia casually surveyed the area. Oh yes, she saw the men hiding in the trees, but they were of no real concern to her. What she wanted lay straight ahead. She raised her arm and her troops drew their weapons.

  Here we go.

  “Ready!” Captain Sheeran bellowed.

  Her arm fell, and with it, her men took off at a run, charging into battle. Charlie’s forces waited, letting their adversary come to them.

  “Now!” Sheeran said, the youth at his side blowing a shrill horn blast.

  Spears and arrows rained down from the woods, striking the foremost soldiers and stopping them dead in their tracks. A return volley against the protected archers would be a waste of arrows, so Malalia’s men raced toward their opponents. Once the combatants were engaged, archers could not target them without risking hitting their own men.

  The battle swung into full gear, and the men of King Charlie’s guard put on an impressive display of close quarter tactics with the short sword, using the techniques the king had shown them while adding in a few new variations Captain Sheeran had added.

  The men teamed into trios, operatin
g as a single unit to overwhelm and separate the enemy from their comrades. Then, once there was only one broadsword to deal with, two would swing high, engaging the heavily-armored man with overhead attacks, forcing him to defend his head.

  At the same time, one of their number would scramble low––made possible by his modified armor’s superior range of motion––and disable one, or both, of the man’s legs. As he stumbled and fell, the other two struck at the joints, driving their daggers into the narrow spaces.

  The blows themselves were not fatal. At least, not immediately. But they did serve to quickly disable and remove a soldier from the battle.

  “Interesting tactic,” Charlie said, watching from behind the lines. “Your creation?”

  “Aye,” Captain Sheeran replied.

  “Well done, Captain. Way to think outside the box.”

  “Sire?” he said, confused. “What box?”

  “It’s just a––Nevermind. Just, nice job, is all.”

  “Thank you, Sire.”

  The battle raged, and men were falling from both sides. Charlie was sickened by the carnage, but he knew it had to be done. The stage had to be set. Finally, he had seen enough.

  “Malalia!” he bellowed, using an amplification spell to boom his voice across the battleground. “Enough of this pointless bloodshed. Why waste these men’s lives? It is us you want, not them.”

  The spell hadn’t cost him an iota of power, the konuses lining his arms were his most powerful, and had cast it with no noticeable energy loss.

  Malalia thought a moment. He could see her musing over something in her wicked mind, even from across the field. Then she waved her hand, casting a yap zina spell, knocking the legs out from all of the men before her, following it with another spell, flinging their bodies aside to the edges of the battlefield, wiping the area clean of the combatants from both sides.

  “Holy shit. She is seriously strong.”

  “I told you,” Bawb said.

  “Yeah, but damn,” Charlie replied.

  Malalia stepped down from her hay bale and began walking straight toward him, relaxed and carefree.

  “Are you challenging me, Charlie? Really? And here I thought you had gained a bit of common sense since I last saw you.”

  Charlie flashed a knowing glance at his Wampeh friend.

  “You’ll have to refresh my memory, Malalia. Did you mean that time when we kicked your ass, destroyed your fleet, and Bob here stuck a knife in your father’s side? That time?”

  He had hoped for a reaction, and boy did he get one.

  Malalia flew into a rage, launching spell after spell in her fury. But Charlie and his friends remained unharmed, the attacks shattering and dissipating before they ever got close. Some spells even rebounded, ricocheting back into her own forces, taking out one of her personal guards in a most horrible way.

  Charlie and Bawb smiled. It had been an exhausting night’s work, but it was worth it, and now Malalia Maktan was falling for the same trick that had in part led to her father’s defeat.

  Taking turns in shifts, Charlie and his Wampeh friend had cast spell upon spell in the air, creating a densely layered protective field in front of, and above them. All they had to do was steer Malalia into the right place to ensure her attack would be directed at them.

  “A hay bale?”

  “Yes, Bob. A hay bale,” Charlie had replied.

  “Would you care to fill me in on this bit of strategic genius, my king,” he said, sarcasm in his voice.

  “She’s a megalomaniac. And a narcissist. Malalia will want to not only see the battlefield, but she’ll want to be sure everyone sees her. She’ll want to stand out. And what better way to stand out than to step up?”

  Bawb had to admit, it was actually a very clever manipulation of their adversary’s psychological shortcomings. “I’ll bring one over,” he said.

  “Right here. This is the spot she should stand,” Charlie replied, marking the spot.

  And their plan had worked perfectly. While they were vulnerable from the sides, so long as she came at them head-on, they stood a chance. If she shifted her attack just a bit to either side, she’d smash right through it. But even with her attacking as planned, her power was going to be too much. Eventually, the spells would all fail, leaving the men to face her alone.

  They were armed to the teeth, but it appeared to be a losing proposition in the face of her immense power.

  Charlie turned to Captain Sheeran.

  “You need to take all of the men and get them back. Get them to safety.”

  “But Sire!”

  “No buts, Sheeran. This is a magical battle. One your men can’t hope to survive, and I won’t have any more innocents fall in my name. This is my fight, and I’ll handle it,” he said, clasping the captain by the shoulder and locking his gaze. “Sheeran, if I should fall and she lives, you must take the men and flee. But if I fall, yet we prevail, then make sure the people are led well. By a good, and honorable man.”

  “By who, Sire? You are king.”

  “And if I’m gone, you’ll make an excellent one, my friend.”

  The few troops within earshot murmured their approval of the choice. Captain Sheeran held his gaze silently a moment longer, sharing a look of respect. Then nodded and turned to the men.

  “You heard the king. Fall back.” He grasped his king’s hand in a firm grip. “Good luck, Sire.”

  “Thank you. Now get moving.”

  With that, Captain Sheeran and his men drew clear of what was surely to be the most spectacular magic battle his world had ever seen.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  After her futile attack, Malalia had called her opponents out, seeking parlay to discuss the situation face to face.

  Walking to meet their destiny, Charlie felt like one of those old-timey gunslingers from the films his grand-dad had shown him when he was a boy. Only instead of guns, they had magical weapons and a wand. Actually, Charlie still had his guns, taken through time with him when they first arrived, but the ammunition had long since run out. A casualty of those first tumultuous weeks as ruler of a new land.

  Should have taken more ammo, he had chided himself. But in the heat of battle and in the midst of a panicked retreat, they were happy to have brought any supplies at all. In fact, escaping with their lives was good enough for one and all.

  And now those lives might very well end. But not if Charlie could help it. And they did have their packs, loaded with magical weaponry, as well as the last of the Balamar healing waters. Given who they were facing off against, this was going to be interesting to say the least.

  “You ready for this?” he asked the assassin at his side as they walked past their defenses to confront the evil queen from another galaxy.

  “As ready as one can be, given the circumstances,” Bawb replied. “And if we fail, oh what a glorious way to go out, you must admit.”

  Charlie chuckled, barely keeping his poker face affixed. “Ladies, make sure you stay close.”

  “Right behind you, Leila said, tugging the short lead that connected her to Rika. The formerly berserker woman was now quite docile, it seemed, but they were still taking no chances, and her hands remained firmly bound.

  Hunze walked behind Bawb, a small pack over her shoulder, her hand gently touching the small of his back, letting him know she was close. Close, and safe. Protected.

  Malalia had stopped her massive assault when she realized she was unable to find a weakness in their rather ingenious defense. She hated to admit it, but she had underestimated them. With limited resources, they had found a way to hold her far greater power at bay. But now, with the promise of parlay, they were walking out of their protective bubble and into her trap.

  The Ootaki girl was with them, she noted, the woman’s long golden hair hanging loosely down past her ears, then pulled back and wrapped around her body. The sheer power contained within that one slave would be more than enough for her purposes when she slayed the others.

/>   “So, Malalia. Here we are again,” Charlie said, stopping a good thirty feet from the hateful woman. “Are you going to play nice this time?”

  “Oh, Charlie. Ever the joker,” she cooed. Coming from such a horrible person, the sweet tone was enough to make his skin turn cold. “I see you have brought my pet back to me. Hello, pet!”

  “Rika’s not yours anymore.”

  “We’ll see about that.” She replied. “And you even brought your Wampeh friend to do your dirty work for you once more. Perhaps I’ll drain him dry this time,” she taunted. “And Leila. Lovely to see you again. Feeling better since I tortured you, I take it.”

  “Ignore her. She’s just trying to get a rise out of you,” Bawb said.

  “And what of you, assassin? Does it not offend your sensibilities, knowing the blood of one of your kin now flows in my veins?”

  “It is an abomination, Malalia, and one brought on by your own hand. And that will be your undoing.”

  “Oh, please. I am stronger than ever.”

  “Yes, but you will never be able to stop feeding. Unlike me, you no longer have that choice.”

  Her smile faltered a split second, but Bawb saw it. Oh yes. It seemed she was well aware of the unintended consequence of her folly.

  “It is of no matter. Soon enough I will feast upon all of you.”

  “So, your offer of parlay was to discuss eating us?” Charlie asked. “Not really in the whole spirit of the tradition, there.”

  “Idiots. You actually believed I would peacefully surrender to the likes of you?”

  “Well, we were hoping––“

  “It will never happen. And now you have foolishly been lured from your defenses.”

  “Yet we are not defenseless,” Leila said, holding up her arm to display the konus she wore.

  “Ah, I see you are all well-armed. How delightful. That will make this so much more satisfying.”