"Shit!"
"We must break it off."
William turned to the horn blowers. "Sound the retreat!"
The horn men blew a deep resonating tone, followed by a high-pitched tone. Then they repeated this. They did it a third time.
The armies of the free men backed up, helping their wounded along the way. The Southlanders pushed forward, seeing a final advantage. Juxta cut a wall of lightning in between the Southlanders and men of Lynken.
Prince William pointed his index finger at Jason. "This isn't over."
William turned to flee. Jason leaped forward and sliced into the prince's right shoulder. William fell. Jason let out great bellowing laughter. William pushed himself up and ran.
King William had a plan worked out for this contingency. The Kergian cats and Xander headed to the south. Nork's men and leaders headed north. Lynken's troops retreated to their castle. The Magi on Lynken's side met the retreating army at the top of the hill and did their best healing chants as the men ran.
Nork's force organized about two miles north of the castle. The Cat Riders stayed closer, less than one mile away. The Southlanders surrounded the castle.
* * *
Pintos bowed to Quintak. "We've scouted the castle. Two streams pass under it, and numerous waterfalls, but there's no hidden tunnel or cave."
"You're certain?" Quintak asked.
Luther let out a snarl. "That was a dirty trick Juxta pulled. How did he do it?"
Timothy sighed. "After today, I need rest."
"I'll kill William," Jason said as if in a daze.
"Yes, rest," Quintak said. "We must build siege engines."
* * *
King William personally closed the gates to the castle and put the bar in place as the last man entered. None of the Magi could even stand. Some of the men were still immobilized by sticky, hard tar on their bodies.
King William walked over to the resting Magi. "Can any of you block out their scrying eyes?"
"There's a way," Kirl said. "It's called a Shroud of Darkness. It's difficult, and none of us have the strength right now."
"Rest."
* * *
Nork's men were sitting on the ground. Reno, Nero, Gregory, Malik, Derrick, and Oppie were huddled in a circle. "We're going home?" Reno asked.
Gregory spat on the ground. "Mother was clear we're to return to Nork if we lose one in four men."
Malik waved his hands to get their attention. "Count our dead! How many men have fallen!"
A murmuring went through the troops. A few men stepped forward. "Less than four hundred."
"We're not leaving," Gregory said with a tone of cold steel in his words. "Derrick, scry about."
Derrick whimpered a bit, then closed his eyes. "Lynken's forces are in the castle, surrounded. The Southlanders are licking their wounds."
Gregory raised his voice. "Likely we're still needed. In the next battle, I won't stand at the rear while my countrymen bleed and die. I'll be in the front. If there are no objections?"
"The queen was very clear," Malik said.
"She's not here, and I outrank you, Malik!"
He bowed. "I have never questioned your rank, my liege. I'll stand on your right, while Reno and Nero stand on the left. And we'll lead the charge!"
Men cheered and howled.
Chapter Seventy-Two
King William looked over his troops. He was forgetting something.
A guardsman on the wall shouted and pointed. "The prince!"
The king raced for the gate and threw the heavy log barring it out of the way. He pushed both doors open at once. The prince stood in the distance, inching forward, dragging the end of his sword along the ground. Knowing it could be a trap, the king ran forward anyhow. Lisa moved towards the gate.
The king reached his son and got his shoulder underneath the young man's armpit. The elder William noticed the blood all down the prince's backside. The king tried to hurry the boy along. The prince collapsed. The king picked him up in his arms and ran. The Southlanders couldn't be far behind. King William set foot inside the castle, and men barred the door behind him. He laid his son on the ground.
Lisa was there, chanting. White tendrils of smoke seemed to bleed into her from her surroundings. The same kind of black veins raging in Juxta's arms, only white, climbed into Lisa's hands. She whispered, "It's done."
"Will he live?" The king asked.
"He's lost a lot of blood. I'd say, if he makes it through the night, he's got a chance."
"That's the best you can do!"
"I can barely stand," Lisa said.
Bart pushed himself off the ground. He stepped forward. "I can lend him some strength, but I doubt I'll be good for much afterward."
"Do it," William said.
Bart knelt down on the ground before the prince. He put his hands on the downed man's chest. He pulled in great power and chanted. The prince stirred but stayed down. The Magi fell over onto the ground.
King William shouted, "Stretchers!"
Mathew groaned. "He's going to need more strength through the night. I'll stay at his side."
Guardsmen ran forward with two stretchers. Juxta wanted to know William's plan, but he didn't want to get up off the courtyard ground. He lay back down. The sun was still high in the sky. Juxta let himself drift off.
Hours passed. At sunset, William woke everyone and had a great feast prepared, with no alcohol. William pulled Juxta off to the side. "Are you rested?"
"Hardly," Juxta replied.
"The most I can give you is three or four more hours."
"You have a plan? The castle’s surrounded."
"Rest. I want somebody to put up that Shroud of Darkness tonight."
"My liege, talk to me. I need to know what to plan for."
"Not until the Shroud is in place."
Juxta clasped his friend on the shoulder. He found an unoccupied room to be with Lisa. He held her tight. "I may have to kill him," Juxta said.
"I'm prepared for that," she said.
Juxta cried a few tears he couldn't hold back. "I'm not."
Lisa squeezed him. "Maybe we can make another one."
"No one can replace Luther."
"I know, but he's lost. He's not going to break free of the magic."
"Maybe."
Lisa straightened up a few hairs in Juxta's face. "Get some rest and hold me. Just stay with me."
Juxta nuzzled in close and fell asleep.
A few hours later, a knock sounded on the door. King William stood there. He asked in a low tone, "Who will cast the Shroud?"
"We must ask Kirl," Juxta said.
"You boys have fun," Lisa said. "I don't even want to know what you're planning."
"Of course, my lady, we're just planning a nice evening stroll along the castle walls," William said.
Juxta stood up and joined William in the passageway. They did indeed walk the castle walls. Southlanders surrounded them at a uniform distance around the perimeter. They woke Kirl. William said, "The Shroud of Darkness."
"It will last maybe an hour, but it will exhaust whoever casts it," Kirl said. "Josah! Wake up!"
Josah sat up. "It's time?"
William said, "Yes, please."
"As small as this castle is, I can do ninety minutes, give or take."
"More than we need, but thank you."
Josah sat cross-legged on the ground. He began a fast paced chant. His eyes turned a solid black. A wave of darkness like a cloud of smoke from a coal fire stretched out from him and blanketed the castle.
Kirl said, "It's done."
William began to shout at the top of his lungs. "Rally! Rally! I need every Ranger! Come on, Juxta!"
Rangers jumped to their feet and formed lines.
William waited for everyone to show himself. "I need volunteers! Every last man who carries a Cuts-metal blade."
Rangers stepped forward en masse.
"No!" William shouted. "This is just for people with the blades
."
Men sighed and stepped backward.
"You must be a fast runner and a good swimmer!" William shouted.
Every man with an arcane blade stepped forward a second time.
"Kirl, come with us," William said. Then he headed off into the bowels of the castle. Kirl, Juxta, Simon, and fifteen Rangers followed.
* * *
Derrick nudged Gregory awake. "They've put up a Shroud of Darkness."
Gregory shook Malik. "I don't know what that means."
Malik rubbed his palms together madly. "It means they have closed out any scrying eyes. They've got something planned."
"Then it's time to advance," Gregory said. "We need to find high ground, so we can see and not be seen."
"Agreed."
"I can still scry the Southlander's camp," Derrick said. "We don't need to get that close."
Chapter Seventy-Three
King William led the way down stairways. "The tenth king of Lynken went purely mad. His name was George."
"What did he do?" Juxta asked.
"He took a torch to his six-month-old son. The captain of the Rangers heard the screams." William pushed open some doors into the heart of the dungeon. "The captain saved the child and subdued the king."
Kirl asked, "What of it?"
William led them down one more flight of stairs. Kirl and Juxta provided light. The air was stagnant and musty, as if this place had not seen wind in a long time. At the base of the stairs, one cell waited. Inside that cell was a stone throne with a rotted skeleton chained to it. William pointed at the remains. "Meet George. His son was crowned at the age of six months. They called him William the Scarred. Since that time, Kings of Lynken have done a better job hiding our insanity."
"You brought us down here to show us this?" Simon asked. "What does George have to do with anything?"
"He is in our WAY!" William took three running steps at the chair and plowed into it with his right shoulder. The chair lifted and slid, but not entirely out of the way.
Simon ran at it and planted his shoulder into it next to William. The two working together moved the chair off a passageway. The chair tipped and crashed to the ground, and the bones of George scattered onto the floor of the cell. Stairs led down where the chair had been.
An apparition of gray smoke and flashes of light rose out of the bones on the floor. In a hoarse voice, the ghost said, "William!" The cloudy form dissipated.
King William shook his head and started to descend the stairs. "Kirl is going to have to cast Breathe Water on us."
"You're a madman, William," Juxta said. "What's your plan!"
"Quintak's command pavilion is set back far away from his mass of troops. Surgical strike. Lop off Quintak's head. There are four guards in front of the tent and a few roving guards, but we have bows."
"The castle is surrounded."
"The stream that runs under this part of the castle is deep. We swim underwater for five hundred yards or so. Kill Quintak."
Adam spoke for the first time on this adventure. "Suicide mission."
Clark let out one simple laugh. "Glory forever."
"Let's do it."
William led the way. He stopped at a ledge. "This ledge: we run straight for it. Run fast enough, you land in water. Run too slow, you land on rock, and you're dead."
"Splendid," Kirl said.
"I just want you to cast the water breathing. If Juxta does it, it'll sap his strength."
"We hit water, then what?" Juxta asked.
"Swim underwater with the current for at least five hundred yards," William said.
"This is becoming more and more like a job all the time."
Simon poked Juxta in the ribs. "You love it."
William clapped Juxta on the back. "You go first, Juxta, so we have light when we land. And that way if you don't run fast enough and land on rock, we'll hear your scream, and make up some other plan."
William squinted his eyes. "You do have a plan for defeating Quintak?"
"I have one more trick up my sleeve to counter Quintak," Juxta said. "If it fails, I'll kill Luther, then Quintak. And I might just kill Timothy Drakkar, too. Either way, it's going to be blood and pain."
"Good man!"
Kirl chanted the Breathe Water spell on each of them. He did William last, and it took almost all his strength. The troop backed up as far as possible from the ledge.
"Run fast!" William said.
Juxta pushed on the ground with his legs as hard as possible. He flew off the edge and howled, "Arroooo!"
He hit water and got a mouthful, and it went up his nose. He thought to breathe. He swam down low and waited. William splashed into the water above him. Simon and the other Rangers soon followed. They swam forward into the stream. Juxta extinguished his light and swam with the current, staying low. He swam on and on. The moon was bright above. After a very long way under water, a hand grabbed him by the nape of his neck, lifting him up.
They headed south to skirt around Quintak's forces. William whispered, "Juxta, Simon, the three of us are going into that tent, everybody else will guard the outside."
"That's not right," Adam said. "That tent's huge. There could be fifty men inside."
"You and Clark can come in."
"Nice."
Two roving guards paced in a small circle in their way. Three arrows pierced through the chest of each guard. Rangers didn't miss.
Lynken's men continued to advance. They were within bowshot of Quintak's tent. In total, it was maybe forty feet square. Four guards stood at the doorway. Rangers took aim with their bows. Two arrows cut down each guard in synchronicity.
Juxta was the first to step inside the tent. Luther, Quintak, Timothy, Jason, Pintos, and a number of Southlander women were sleeping. William, Simon, Adam, and Clark followed behind Juxta.
The other Rangers formed a circle around the outside of the tent.
Quintak stirred awake and raised a great howl to wake the others. "Welcome to my home."
Chapter Seventy-Four
Adam and Clark charged forward to kill Quintak. Some kind of cube ward flashed bright light, and the hapless Rangers were knocked backward. The Southlander women cowered in the back. Timothy threw a ball of green fire right at Juxta's heart.
Luther yelled, "No more dirty tricks!"
Juxta raised a sphere of protection around himself and focused on summoning power. He reached deep within his wells for a new source. The energy poured into him from the very earth at his feet.
Luther rained lightning on Juxta.
King William pushed forward against the din of magic. Simon stood at Juxta's side. Shadow bats of black smoke formed in the air around Juxta and flew into his heart in waves of four or five at a time.
The emerald and rubies, in Juxta's Dragon's Fire ring, began to dance and sparkle. A great tornado of smoke raged in the amethyst on the end of Juxta's staff. William inched forward, hoping that by moving slow, he'd make it through the ward.
Jason charged forward and tried to bring his blade down on Juxta, but Simon's weapon stood in his way. Simon glared hatred at Jason and pushed him back. The black tendrils in Juxta's hands returned, as Timothy and Luther rained more fire and lightning.
Quintak spoke slowly and calmly, "Soon your resistance will end. You'll join forces with me."
Juxta sensed a snake wrapping around his heart trying to take control of his will.
William pushed forward closer and closer to Quintak. Simon and Jason traded blows. Simon threw his fist into Jason's nose, knocking him down. "I said I wouldn't kill you, and I think I lied," Simon said. He rained blows down on the younger man.
William raised his arcane blade against Quintak, but Quintak possessed a powerful sword, too. Blue sparks flew off the weapons as they connected.
"This is what it's about," Quintak said. "Leader against leader! Let us decide the fates of our people."
William struck again and again. "It's time for you to die!"
Quintak flicke
d his wrist. A ball of the black tar fire flew out of his hand at William. The king dodged, but there were three more fireballs in the air in the blink of an eye. The second one landed on William's right shoulder and immobilized it. He fell backward. Adam and Clark were up by then, and they advanced with slow precision on Quintak.
The tendrils of darkness crawling up Juxta's arms were at his elbows. More power than ever before raged in Juxta. Age-old images flashed in his mind. Princess Rubie and William down on the ground. Ogres. The sight of Hebron sliding off his horse.
Juxta knew no will other than to destroy.
Break the bonds
you use to enslave
free yourself
free your slaves
break the chains you have made
or in this earth
you will be laid
The crown on Quintak's skull splintered into shards. His blade twisted into a useless mess. Jason blinked. The flow of destruction from Timothy and Luther stopped.
"What have we done?" Timothy asked.
Power still raged in Juxta. He turned his eyes on Quintak. The Southlander fled. Jason sprang to his feet and chased after him.
A Ranger shouted into the tent, "We're surrounded!"
William fumbled with his leather armor trying to free his arm. Adam and Clark cut away at it. The black lines in Juxta's arms and shoulders were a moment away from reaching his heart. They were in Luther, too, into his chest.
William was finally free. He shouted, "Juxta, Luther, healing magic only!" William, Simon, Adam, and Clark pushed their way outside. Juxta, Timothy, and Luther followed.
The Rangers were indeed surrounded, but no spider shamans seemed to be around. Rangers bled here and there, and Juxta or Luther chanted healing magic. The women in the tent stepped out to be with Luther and Timothy.
"Hold the line!" William shouted. "Magi, focus on healing. We can hold this line for days!"
* * *
Derrick whispered, "They're engaging Quintak."
Gregory raised his sword high. "Charge!"
Derrick threw a great ball of white energy into the sky, lighting up the entire field.
Luther, Magi: Blood of Lynken II Page 23
