by Tom Rogal
Here, in one of the cradles of evil, the protection of the amulet started to fail.
“Come closer.”
Levus suddenly began to move forward, past Thamalos. In surprise, everyone in the group watched him take the lead. He started sniffing the air, jerking his head from side-to-side. His moved unsteadily, like a drunk man staggering.
Thamalos asked, “Levus, is everything okay?”
He didn’t answer. He had something to do. A strange smirk grew on his face. When they came to a fork in the hallway, Levus followed the outer path.
Divi was very worried. She felt that same presence back in his head . . . and noticeably stronger. It was telling him to do something.
Levus suddenly began laughing, and in between chortles he whispered while laughing, “Truii yoponta.”
Thetalis and Thamalos glanced hard to each other. That language . . . how did he learn to speak it? Who taught him it? More importantly, who was telling him where to go? The elf prince surveyed the path as they continued forward again.
Levus whispered, “Entiana repewuyit.”
Thamalos was worried now. He could understand exactly what Levus was saying. It was an ancient form of elvish. One that he wished he wasn’t hearing, especially from one of their own.
Levus whispered again, “Kethiapa tunona.”
Eraddor, who had been quiet throughout most of the journey through the former elven palace, leaned over toward Thamalos. “Where is he taking us?”
He looked ahead, using his Elf Sight to the fullest, though he didn’t need to. There was only one room that Levus could be leading them to taking this route . . . a room he would have liked to avoid.
“The throne room.”
***
They finally reached the throne room after about a half hour. Although Thamalos didn’t want to follow Levus, this might be the only way that they would find what was talking to the boy. The elf prince hadn’t planned on going this way. One reason was because it was a dead end. The escape route was in the royal chambers, to the east of the throne room. The other reason was that this room had been cursed by his father just before they deserted it. An elvish curse was not to be taken lightly.
Levus had stopped speaking ever since they neared the throne room. The group broke up a bit to explore the extravagant space. Thamalos didn’t want the group to be an easy target for whatever they might face here. It had three-tiered mezzanine on both sides, but only the three on the right was open to the air. Moonlight shined through its wide windows. Large pillars held up the platforms, though it looked as if their strength was weakened by age. There were two large tapestries on the far wall along with three thrones set in a triangle formation. Despite all the windows, no wind was entering the room.
Suddenly, Levus collapsed. The Moonsaber fell harmlessly to the floor with a heavy metallic thud. Divi, Tasi, and Thetalis all ran over to his side. Levus looked disoriented when Divi arrived.
She asked, “Are you okay?”
He slowly replied, “I’m fine. What happened? Where are we?”
Thetalis asked, “You don’t remember where you led us?”
A loud roar suddenly echoed through the throne room, despite its open windows. Thamalos and Eraddor both searched the area, attempting to find the source. They heard the roar again.
Levus asked, “What the hell was that?”
Another roar, very different from the previous one, was heard soon after. It was much lower pitched than the first. Divi stood up.
“Never mind that, what was that?”
Levus followed her lead, walking toward Eraddor, until he noticed his sword was on the ground. He was really going to have to start being more careful with it. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost it. As he retrieved it, a voice filled his head.
“The sword will be mine!”
Levus tapped his head lightly a couple of times. That voice was getting annoying. He held onto the Moonsaber tight. The roars were heard again, but now much closer. Everyone was tensely scanning the throne room, trying to locate the source of the terrifying sounds. Divi, despite her telekinetic powers, had a hard time determining which direction they were coming from.
Levus asked, “What is it?”
Thamalos thought hard. They could have been one of many creatures. There were rooms in the palace large enough to hold a dragon as they were esteemed guest when they visited from Dragonia, but they also held many other exotic beasts that could be just as vicious. After its latest roar, though, he was able to identify them unmistakably.
“It’s a Shadow Dragon.”
Eraddor added, “It sounds as if there are two of them.”
“No, only one.”
“It’s coming near,” Tasi said.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from behind the thrones. Rock and debris exploded into room as the tapestries swayed forward. Everyone jumped as a large two-headed dragon appeared from the rubble of the wall behind the room. The scales and skin were all crackled and dry, and its red eyes glared like floating emanations. The dragon both heads belong to walked on its hind legs and had very long hands. It had no wings, but it was as tall as the three levels in the room.
All Levus could say was, “By the gods!”
The Shadow Dragon stepped forward, knocking down The Three Thrones of the Thorii, breaking two of them, shattering the third. The elf prince almost thought cries of pain come from the stone as they split. Thamalos rarely displayed anger, but the sight of his father’s and mother’s thrones crashing broken to the ground unearthed a rage he hadn’t felt in some time.
Thamalos shouted, “Everyone spread out! Divi! Get us on the different levels!”
Divi was scared, but quickly followed Thamalos’ orders. As the elf prince charged forward, she telepathically lifted him up to the second level. Eraddor opted to stay on the ground along with Tasi. Looking up, Levus spotted a group of Ettui coming from doorways on the different levels.
Levus yelled, “Get me to the top!”
Divi complied and lifted Levus to the top level on the left side. He landed softly, but more importantly, was well-balanced. It would make his first strike that much faster
Thetalis, who also noticed the Ettuiis appearance, began to fire arrows at them from the ground, although the tough angle made a killshot anything but easy.
Thamalos paid little attention to the Ettui on his side and instead aimed his magical arrows at the dragon. Pieces of scales shattered with every exploding arrowhead. The dragon had a difficult time determining whom to attack first, with Tasi also hitting him with fireballs on the ground. This particular one was rather old, movements no longer as fluent as they were in its younger age.
The dragon finally opted to attack Thamalos. Its ancient nostrils still caught the scent of elvish blood. Dragons were one of the few creatures that could differentiate it. The others that could were just as bad if not worse, but with one major difference: the other species that sensed elven blood were known to be extinct except for the Ettui and the Garchai.
One of the two dragon heads stared right at Thamalos before the creature swiped its right paw. He leapt up, the dragon ended up hitting the advancing Ettui rather than its intended target. A section of the balcony also collapsed under the dragon’s might. Thamalos landed on the huge hand and climbed up to its neck, firing arrows the whole way up. The dragon did its best to get the elf off by shaking its body, but was not succeeding. Its slow movements were the sole reason the elf was able to do this. If any other dragon would have tried, they would have succeeded. Thamalos, after firing some arrows at its back behind its heads, walked down the left arm and jumped onto the second level on the other side of the room.
Levus began attacking the Ettuiis on the top level. The lead Ettui took a couple of swipes at him before he severed its hand and forced it off the ledge. The dragon caught the falling Ettui warrior with its mouth and swallowed it. Levus was momentarily distracted, as the dragon didn’t even chew its hapless meal.
Levus
muttered, “Holy . . .”
Another two Ettui warriors tried to attack Levus simultaneously. A well-placed arrow from Thetalis took out one of them, while Levus slashed at the other. Five more were coming from the doorway. Levus brought the sword back and prepared for his Technique. As they neared him, he unleashed the attack.
“Circle of Fate!”
The Ettuiis had no chance to avoid it and were quickly destroyed. With no more remaining, Levus returned his focus to his left, only to notice one of the dragon heads looking directly at him. Between the cracks in its skin over its neck, he could see an orange and red glow.
Levus commented, “Not good.”
The dragon cocked its head back and spewed out a ball of fire at Levus. He jumped to his left, barely missed by the fireball. The boy lifted his head to see more Ettui coming advancing in front of him. This time, though, there were also voices behind him.
Tasi and Divi were both doing their best to keep their distance from the dragon. They had no armor like the rest, not that armor would shield them much from a dragon. Tasi at least had his robes, which in themselves provided some protection from other magic. Divi, being the rebel back home, wore her common adventurer garbs. She might as well have gone into battle naked.
Tasi relentlessly attacked the dragon’s right head. When the dragon tried to attack any of their friends on the different levels, Divi telepathically toss a large slab of rock at it. This obviously annoyed the dragon, but there was little it could do while being attacked from all sides. It was times like this when she wished she knew magic so she could be of more help.
Eraddor was also trying to help as best as he could. He tried running behind the dragon and slashing at its legs. Due to the dragon’s age, its scales were battered and brittle. Fortunate, because usually a sword couldn’t pierce a dragon’s hide easily. He got in a few effective slashes, but the handful of Ettui archers on the right side’s top level didn’t make it simple.
Eraddor yelled, “I could use some help here!”
Thetalis was the first to hear his plea. He fired an arrow at the Ettui archers, but it went just wide enough to miss. Two of them took notice and began firing at Thetalis. He ducked behind a stone pillar as the arrows crashed harmlessly against it.
Levus, although having his hands full, was the only other option. He killed one of the Ettui with an upward slash. As its body fell, he noticed the tapestries. He had an idea, but it would be risky. Then again, it was the only choice he had if he wanted to get those archers off Eraddor and Thetalis. Levus made sure to take the two Ettui warriors ahead of him out quickly. He avoided a couple slashes from the other Ettuiis while getting past them as well. If he was going to do this, he was going to have to do it now.
An Ettui warrior suddenly came from the doorway and tried to hit Levus. The swipe just missed as he grabbed onto the tapestry. He cut the rope holding it furled, swinging him toward the other tapestry. He grabbed it and again, cut a rope holding the second tapestry. He swung with his sword aimed at the nearest Ettui. Levus decapitated it, and the other Ettuiis shifted their attentions to this new threat. He began to attack them with a newfound aggression.
Thamalos and Tasi continued to pound the dragon with their magic. Tasi concentrated harder to unleash a larger fireball at the base of the left head’s neck. This madness had to end now. When the fireball connected, the dragon roared out in pain before suddenly going limp. At last! They got one of them!
The elf, seeing that one of the heads had been neutralized, shifted his attention to the dragon’s legs.
Divi, who had been hiding underneath one of the platforms to avoid attacks from the dragon, peeked only to find it moving toward her. She scrambled out of the way before its razor-like tail swung her way. It destroyed a pillar and caused part of the second level to collapse. Thamalos, unfortunately, was standing on this section and fell with the level. Thankfully, the stones were so brittle from age that he was not injured in the fall.
As Divi stood up, she was lost for a few seconds. Dust from the area clouded her vision. It didn’t take long before she saw the dragon limping toward her. She ran so the dragon wouldn’t collapse on her. Tasi fired one more fireball. More scales burst out as the dragon dropped to a knee and then to the ground. Divi, though she tried to keep on her feet, fell once more from the earth-shaking effect of the impact. Despite the injuries, it was still coming. She once again tried to run.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit her and her progress stopped. Her mouth opened, yet no words could come out. She couldn’t feel her legs holding her up, but she was still standing.
Levus, who had finished off his last Ettui warrior, looked in Divi’s direction. His eyes opened wide.
“Divi!”
She didn’t know what to think. Things began to grow cold.
All she could say was, “Levus.”
She finally brought her head down. What was it? She couldn’t tell, but something was sticking out of her. Was it through her stomach? Did it hit her spine? She didn’t know, but the pain seemed to drain further away the longer she was like this.
Tasi and Thamalos saw what happened and began firing arrows and magic like madmen.
Levus yelled as loud as he could as he jumped on the dragon’s last living head and drove the Moonsaber deep into the dragon’s skull. The jewel at the base of the blade glowed the brightest it ever had. The dragon shook violently, but Levus would not let go. He couldn’t.
In the dragon’s last hope, it pulled its claw out of Divi. It was still slick with her blood. She dropped to her knees and then fell forward. Thetalis was the first to reach her, pulling her out of harm’s way and trying to control the bleeding. He didn't know what was pierced, but it was close enough to the heart for him to have concerns.
Levus grip almost slipped, and he fought to maintain it. He wasn’t going to let this beast win. It would pay for what it did to Divi! The blade suddenly radiated a light just as bright as the jewel's. Levus could feel the energy flowing from it through his veins. It was hungry for blood, and he was much obliged to give it what it wanted. A sick smile grew wide on his face.
Levus whispered, “Feed!”
The sword growled with approval. The Moonsaber emitted a bright red light, making the entire dragon's face glow through its cracked skin before a beam cracked the dragon’s skull and burst out through the bottom of its jaw. The force of the attack left a large dent in the ground where it impacted.
Thamalos stared at the scene stunned. Was it possible for a sword to do what he just saw it do?
The dragon finally threw Levus off, but the damage was done. As the creature gave its last breath, he struck the ground hard, dropping the Moonsaber in the process. The voices in his head were silenced and the bloodlust quenched. As he tried to stand, a sharp pain stung his arm. Levus was hurt, he didn’t doubt that, but it didn’t seem to matter. He got up and ran to Divi. Everyone had already surrounded her when he arrived.
“Divi! Hold on!” Levus shouted.
She began to mutter incoherently.
Thetalis said, “We must get her to my people. Time is short.”
Thetalis quickly carried her out of the throne room followed closely by Tasi and Thamalos. Eraddor was the only one left with Levus, knelt in shock. He gazed at his hands, red droplets of Divi’s blood slowly dripping off his fingers. How could he have let this happen? He promised her nothing would happen to her. He drove his face into his hands as the tears began to flow. He didn’t care what it took. He would give anything to let Divi live. Anything.
CHAPTER 17
The Adventure Begins
Levus stood on one of the balconies of the Thorii Palace. The sun rose as the morning came, maybe the first time in years that a sunrise touched Barbatan soil. The sun was what gave life and hope, and these were two things that had forsaken this place long ago. He heaved a heavy sigh. It had been eight hours since Thetalis had taken Divi into what he described as "a half-elf procedure". Levus’ hope was short. That wou
nd she suffered had been severe. She was lucky that it missed her spine or else she would’ve died instantly.
Levus began to pace along the railing. The sight of the dragon’s claw penetrating Divi’s body haunted his mind. No, I can’t think like that anymore. The thought made him shiver. He stopped his pacing and slammed his fist hard against the stone. He shouldn’t have left her side. He told her to be careful, but he should’ve known that she would try and be a hero to protect him. He should’ve been there for her.
Suddenly, the doors behind him opened. He was blinded by the glare of the sun reflecting off the glass in their windows. As someone stepped in front of it, his tears of pain turned to tears of joy and surprise. Was he dreaming?
Standing before him was Divi dressed in a long white gown that fit her loosely. Thetalis stepped next her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
She couldn’t control her joy any longer. She sprinted to Levus and they met each other with a hug that was both sincere and warm. She grimaced slightly as her arms squeezed him, but it didn’t matter to her.
He couldn’t believe this was real. It felt real, but it had to be a dream. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I thought I lost you!”
Divi replied, “I never thought I’d be this happy to be near you.”
“She is certainly a tough one.”
Thetalis walked over to them as they separated and continued, “You were extremely lucky the claw missed nearly every organ vital for a mage. The odds of that happening from the wound you sustained are quite low. With the way you’re healing, I would say in a couple of days you will be back at full strength.”
The half-elf’s evaluation didn’t faze Levus or Divi, as they were lost in each other’s eyes. Thetalis took this as his cue to return to the medical room.
As he did, Thamalos and Tasi were both standing by the doorway. They had stayed on the balcony with Levus, being silent but also present should he do something rash if she had died. Thamalos was most impressed with what he was watching: a mage, Divi, and a human, Levus, sharing a moment that usually was not common between the two races.
