by CK Dawn
She seemed like a different person from the shy fourteen-year-old who had just married the King. He tried not to think about those things and just basked in the joy of being with Queen Emilia.
“So I need to go to Burkeville to handle some matters for the realm,” he told her.
“I know, you just said that before…before what just happened,” she said with a naughty smile.
“Right, sorry. So I’ll be back as soon as I can, unless your husband sends me away again.”
“If he sends you away this time, I’m coming with you,” she promised.
Six days later, Ali-Samuel looked around at the other men at the horseback meeting.
“So does everyone understand the plan?” he asked.
Everyone agreed that they did and Ali-Samuel said, “Then don’t fuck it up.”
He heard ten castle bells ring in succession. He couldn’t keep a straight thought with Emilia running through his head constantly. Ali-Samuel worried that this job would keep him away from her for a long time, but Burkeville and its capital city of Arigold were in shambles.
All fingers pointed to Duke Aston Burke as the problem, and King Ali-Stanley had come up with the solution. Duchess Ali-Tiste Wamhoff and the children weren’t to be harmed, but Ali-Samuel had been personally tasked with eliminating the Duke.
The castle guards were easily bought because they hadn’t received proper wages in years. Aston Burke’s closest guard happily agreed to kill the Duke. Ali-Samuel worried about a setup by the King, but Ali-Stanley hated Aston Burke much more than he hated him. Ali-Samuel still served a purpose to the King.
The next morning, he sat up on a high hill as chaos around the castle had exploded. People were fleeing by the dozens and dispersing in every direction. He smiled and knew the job was complete but he still had to be sure.
He waited a few hours and entered the castle. He found the dead Duke in a small drinking room at a stone table. Ali-Samuel moved in and picked the head up off the table. Blood gushed from the neck wound as he confirmed the identity and dropped the head, which landed with a thud. He walked over to the cabinet containing different jugs and poured some spirits into a goblet. He swirled it around and took a sip of the strong liquid.
One of his men said, “Alright, he’s dead. Can we get out of this shit region now?”
Ali-Samuel informed everyone, “We have to stay. Lord Davyd will be here in three days so make yourselves comfortable.”
“Well shit for salted beef, give me a drink then,” Sir Arwell said.
The next day, a castle guard approached Ali-Samuel in a meeting chamber.
The man wearing armor said, “There’s a man here says he’s supposed to be seeing you. He’s got a huge scar splitting his face in half like this.” He demonstrated with his finger.
“Send him in,” Ali-Samuel said.
The guard nodded his head and opened the door. Ali-Steven Wamhoff entered the room and gave his son a smirk.
“Everyone out. I need to speak to this man in private.” Ali-Samuel waited. “It’s been a long time.”
“Indeed, it has been. I have the Histoman ready and the meeting with the Queen of Goldenfield went extremely well. I’m quite confident she will ally with us unless she tries to steal the kingdom for herself,” his father told him.
“Good, because the Capitol is a mess and guess who won’t remove Ali-Varis as heir?” Ali-Samuel asked.
“Perfect, almost too perfect. What’s going on with you? Are you trying to hide a smile?” Ali-Steven wanted to know.
He felt like he was letting out a huge emotional exhale as he explained. “I finally did it. I captured Queen Emilia’s love. I’ve never really known happiness until now. If this is what happiness feels like?”
“You’re not exactly a poet or singer, but good for you. Rip her away from my brother. Speaking of him…” his father let the words linger.
“Yes. I have a plan in motion and Ali-Ster and Emilia have already committed.”
“Are we still going with our plan?” Ali-Steven wanted to confirm.
“Absolutely. I haven’t told them anything specific yet. I’ll set it up to run misdirection and frame one of them, just not sure who yet. You better be able to find your way to the King’s Castle on the day we discussed. If not, I’ll have a contingency plan in place to be sure the overall plan is realized. His days are numbered, that’s for certain,” Ali-Samuel said.
“I don’t know if it will make me feel better, but I want it so bad, I can taste the revenge,” his father told him.
“I remember you lecturing me against that type of motivation many years ago.”
His father explained, “That was before I thought my twin would outlive me. He’s had everything handed to him up to this point. I have one way I can get the last laugh. The second best thing to being king is killing the king.”
“The kingdom is close to being ours, father. Ali-Stanley has bungled the last few military operations, even more so than the previous ones. Now, I’ve heard an entire company of several thousand soldiers has come up missing. Nobody wants to fight for this King. The people want you to take back your realm, they’re practically begging for it,” he informed his father.
A fortnight later, Ali-Samuel Wamhoff waited in the hot, secret tunnels behind the walls and floors of the castle. He stood just inside a door that led to the outside. He pulled the door and peered through the small opening. Again, his father was nowhere in sight.
Time was running out and Ali-Samuel wondered if his father had been apprehended. He had just seen him two days ago at the Spice Market, so this seemed odd. He could only check one more time before he put the alternate plan into effect. He pulled back on the door again and the bright sun stunted his vision.
As it readjusted, he saw a large man approaching rapidly. He recognized the scar and opened the door a little more.
He quietly closed the door and whispered, “I’ll show you where it is. Remember where you are going so you can find your way out. Wait a half hour until you go in. That will give me enough time to get the diversions going. I’ll see you at the Stone Bay Harbor.”
He turned to leave, but his father grabbed him and said, “Son. Thanks for letting me do this. If Ali-Stanley is going to die, it should be at my hands.”
“Yes, father.”
He led the way through the tunnels and although his father barely fit, they arrived at the trap door in the King’s bedroom floor. Ali-Samuel pointed up, nodded and left to put the rest of the plan in motion. So far, the plan had gone perfectly.
A few months later, Ali-Samuel watched as the Histoman warriors kept flooding in through the city gates of Elkridge. He knew victory was all but assured as he hacked through the sparse ranks of the unskilled enemy. The half-moon didn’t provide enough light for fighting so he stayed close to the fires.
A quick peek to his left revealed a golden blade opening up his father’s belly. Ali-Samuel jumped in to defend the older man and engaged a former brother-at-arms. The formidable opponent went by the name of The Man with the Golden Sword for obvious reasons. Thunder boomed and a web of lightning lit up the sky as the two intense warriors traded attacks.
Ali-Samuel could tell The Man didn’t have as much power as he used to. He parried The Man’s offensive and countered with a three-strike combination that his opponent deflected at the last moment. They went back and forth as the downpour picked up.
The Man with the Golden Sword started a barrage of overhand strikes that wore Ali-Samuel down. He continued like a madman and Ali-Samuel heard death knocking at his door. His strength was running out rapidly and he knew he couldn’t keep up his defense for much longer.
He wanted to look into the eyes of his killer. They were icy blue and bulging out with a look of surprise. Ali-Samuel noticed his father standing behind The Man. His opponent spun around to exact revenge on Ali-Steven.
Ali-Samuel froze. He didn’t want to end his former Battle Brother’s life like this. He looked at his father
’s bleeding gut and jammed his sword into The Man with the Golden Sword’s back. It wasn’t a sexy victory but Ali-Samuel surveyed the battle scene and realized that the fight was already over.
They rode north to the Duke’s Castle and the apothecaries and counts went to work on Ali-Steven Wamhoff. The medicine men crudely sewed the wound shut with a technique that had never been attempted before.
They did the best they could, but the outlook didn’t look very good for his father. Ali-Samuel went to the Duke’s quarters with the only woman he had ever loved.
As they climbed a spiral staircase, the former Queen of Donegal said, “I’m really worried about your father.”
He replied, “Do you have any other obvious statements you would like to declare?”
Emilia Burke Wamhoff suggested, “Why don’t we stay here instead of trying to conquer the King’s Castle that is garrisoned beyond all belief?”
Ali-Samuel responded, “Because our goal is to be king and queen of this realm. Not rebel duke and duchess. We wouldn’t even be permitted to carry those titles.”
She said, “What about king and queen? Why not claim Waters Edge as our own kingdom? Let them chase after us.”
“I know we’ve been through this already. We don’t have enough numbers to fight off an offensive from King Colbert,” Ali-Samuel argued.
The former queen shook her head. “Then how are we supposed to take out their biggest stronghold? If we press on, we’re only walking straight into death. Your father needs to stay here to get better.”
Ali-Samuel balked. “Time is imperative to taking the King’s Castle. We can’t wait or the King will be able to fortify and garrison every city and town. We press on with or without my father.”
* * *
While Ali-Steven and Ali-Samuel’s dream hung in the balance, another person was trying to achieve the biggest goals of his life halfway across the world.
Eleven
Dragon-Eyes
The dwarf held hands with his lover as they walked down the corridor of the underground School of the Learned Warrior. He marched an unfamiliar march, one toward battle. Dragon-Eyes had never expected that the warriors chosen to fight the demons for supremacy of the earth would be mere children. Most of them weren’t much taller than he.
He looked over at Shireez and noticed a worried look on her face. Her dark complexion, full lips and brown eyes were a magical mix of sheer beauty to Dragon-Eyes. He couldn’t believe that he had met the perfect woman and she had accepted him wholeheartedly.
He had found that making love tended to cloud the mind. He tried to concentrate on the upcoming battle but all he could think about was pleasing Shireez. He was a wizard who could move large objects with only his thoughts, but he couldn’t flush these impure thoughts away.
The couple rushed out the open door and into the sands of Gama Traka. Dark clouds dominated the sky but the exposed sun still shone bright on the pink pebbles. He turned to his lover.
Dragon-Eyes said, “I have to go now. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you.”
Shireez kissed him softly and looked into his eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid out there. I can’t lose you because I love you more than anything. Be brave, not stupid.”
Dragon-Eyes smiled and said, “Bravery and stupidity often go hand in hand, but your point is duly noted. I will be back. I love you.” He kissed her and turned to march with the larger force.
He couldn’t believe that half of his dream had been realized. The humans had set up a plan to cause a distraction to lure the demons to a specific location to launch a sneak attack. Timing was everything for this plan to succeed.
The bigger fighting unit trudged through the dry sand and arrived at the designated waiting area. The dwarf alerted Riceros Colbert to summon the dragons. The scrawny eleven-year-old walked to an open area and blew into the magical flute. The mighty sounds of thousands of whistles blowing in harmony rose into the sky and shook the gray clouds.
Spiraling dragons colored gold and silver descended toward the earth. Dragon-Eyes moved behind Riceros for a closer look.
A golden dragon lumbered up to Riceros and talked. The dragon talked.
It said, “Art thou better prepared this time?”
Dragon-Eyes was blown away. He had used magic in many forms so he didn’t surprise easily but this majestic beast before him was mesmerizing.
He had seen pictures, heard stories and read books about the magical creatures, but he had never truly believed until now. The dragons looked mostly like they had been described, with long necks, pointed heads, two wings and powerful looking bodies.
The golden dragon standing in front of him had eyes with fiery circles in the center surrounded by sheer darkness. The golden teeth shaped like spikes looked rather frightening. The wings were in the shape of a V and this dragon had a long, silver goatee that hung to the middle of his armor-covered body. Shingled, golden oval plates covering the entire body, except for the wrinkled belly, appeared to be as hard as stone and shone in the dying sunlight.
A look of disappointment come over Dragon Eyes’ face.
“What’s wrong?” Riceros asked.
“What? Nothing. It’s just…my best attributes in battle don’t work well in close quarter fighting. I’m afraid I won’t serve much purpose in this battle,” Dragon-Eyes revealed.
Riceros appeared to feel bad for the ancient man.
“What is your dream in life, Dragon-Eyes?” Riceros asked.
“I’ve always wanted to ride a dragon,” the dwarf said and looked down.
“Come with me,” Riceros told him.
The pair went over to the golden dragon named Ikeros and Riceros said, “I have a small request, apologies for the upcoming pun.” He looked at the dwarf and back to Ikeros. “He wants to ride a dragon. Help him fly.”
Ikeros paused for a few moments and said, “I want to ride a human. Can you help me with that?”
“So sorry to bother you. Didn’t mean to take up your valuable time,” Dragon-Eyes said as he dragged Riceros away.
The boy shrugged off the Imp’s grip and said, “Wait, he’s only jesting. You just have to know his sense of humor. Sure, you can ride a human. You see Dioneer over there, hop on.”
The strange whale-like horn blowing of a dragon laughing made for a terrible sound.
The dragon laughed. Amazing.
“Get over here,” Riceros told Dragon-Eyes.
The dwarf waddled over next to Ikeros.
Riceros looked at the dragon and said, “Let him on.”
Ikeros lowered his head and laid his neck next to the two.
Riceros leaned over against Ikeros and said to the dwarf, “You want to grab right under the scales, like this and hold on as tight as you can. You just climb up to the base of the neck here and hold here and here.” Riceros pointed out the best areas to help stay on the dragon.
Dragon-Eyes gripped the golden creature’s soft under-flesh as his mind and heart raced. He couldn’t believe this was about to happen. He had been alive for over four and a half centuries and had never been this excited. This moment was the culmination of his entire life.
A loud outcry of battle chants sounded from ahead and Dragon-Eyes knew the demons were on the march. The dragon’s wings started to flap and the enormous animal lifted off the ground and quickly ascended into falling snowflakes. The desert region of Gama Traka hadn’t seen snow in over one thousand years. They barely even got any rain in this area.
The fluttering flurries reduced visibility and the dwarf had to heavily lean to his right just to see ahead. A look to the left and right revealed the black and red dragons of the enemy as they glided through the clouds.
Ikeros dipped under a red dragon and spat a wad of fire into the unprotected belly region. A horrible shriek came from the injured dragon. Ikeros circled back and engulfed the left wing of the red beast in flames. The dragon crashed to the pink sand below and finally accepted death.
Dragon-Eyes felt th
e thrill of a lifetime as Ikeros left the battle ground and headed for the coast. Dragon-Eyes didn’t know what he was doing until a fleet of docked boats came into view. A fly-over revealed two boats with enormous animals that were eating each other, and rocking the steel ships back and forth.
Ikeros swooped down on the ships and closed in on one that had what appeared to be sacks of grain. He dropped down even further and shot fire at the food. The sacks erupted in flames and the sails caught soon after.
They rose in the air and sped back over to the battle that appeared to be safely in the hands of the humans. The heavy wind resistance ruffled Dragon-Eyes’ clothes and he held on for dear life as he leaned to the right to see ahead.
He noticed an enormous black dragon closing in on Riceros Colbert. The eleven-year-old’s golden wings only held him in place as the beast neared. Dragon-Eyes could feel them picking up more speed and Ikeros drove his shoulder into the hind-quarters of the demon’s dragon, spinning the beast in circles. Dragon-Eyes nearly fell off as the impact occurred just before the obsidian animal made contact with Riceros Colbert.
Ikeros seized on the opportunity and lit up the discombobulated dragon’s wings and belly. Awful smells filled Dragon-Eyes’ nose along with horrid sounds that attacked his ears as the malevolent beast fluttered to the ground and flamed out.
He heard a rumbling coming from the coast and drawing nearer by the moment. A wild pack of the animals from the demons’ boats were bearing down on the battle field. Dragon-Eyes had trouble watching the wild animals rip into humans and demons alike.
They appeared to be cross-breeds of dangerous animals like wolves that walked upright, sharp-toothed stags and fire-breathing mountain lions. He also saw elk with flayed bodies and huge racks taller than a giant. The utter destruction caused Dragon-Eyes to look away again.
Some of the humans had escaped the carnage and were hastily retreating to the School of the Learned Warrior. He felt the dragon turn in the air and they arrived at the entrance to the School in a few minutes. The golden dragon landed and crouched down to make it easier for his passenger to get off. Ikeros didn’t say a word and rose back into the air and flew away with the rest of the gold and silver dragons.
