“I want the rest of you to wait here,” he told them. Seeing Alia and Sane were going to argue, he interrupted them. “Alia, I need you to stay safe so you can find our daughter, and Sane, I need you to protect them if I should fail to return.” Byrn put a hand on Kaleb’s shoulder. “I never should have dragged you into this. Stay here out of harm’s way.”
Each one of them looked ready to object, but Byrn’s voice carried over all of them, drowning them out. “I am the magician prince, Byrn Aurel, and I have come to claim what is rightfully mine. My magicians are taking over this city today and the rest of the kingdom will soon be destroyed if they do not accept me as their leader. First, in a show of good faith, I call upon the former king, Janus Aurel, and the representatives of all the noble houses gathered before me to bend their knees and swear their allegiances to me.”
“I am out of time,” Byrn pleaded, “Please just stay here.”
Alia wore a grim expression, but nodded. “We will stay.”
“No!” cried Sane angrily, “This is foolishness. You cannot face Xander alone as he is now. Southernstar won’t help you, if that is what you’re thinking. She is a pacifist.”
“He speaks true,” added the red dragon. “I am only here to guard the remaining pages of the black grimoire.”
Byrn took the pages from his pack. He wondered if he could convince the mighty dragon to fight for him in exchange for these few pieces of ragged paper. Then thought better of it. Southernstar had done so much to help him already. It did not seem right to try and force her to serve him now. “Take the pages and keep them safe, but before you go will you fly me to wherever Xander Necros is?”
The pages of the grimoire vanished from Byrn’s hand. It happened so quickly that he had no idea what type of magic Southernstar had used to pull off the feat. She held out her front paw and Byrn stepped into it. Southernstar leapt and beat her wings repeatedly as they gained altitude. Below them Sane screamed for them to wait. “Take me with you!” he called after them, but they did not turn back.
The square came into view and Byrn looked around for Xander Necros and his style of black magic, but did not see him among the battle happening below. Southernstar banked to the right, “Look.” Byrn was about to ask at what, but it immediately became apparent what Southernstar had seen. It was a black dragon with glowing red eyes and on its back sat Xander. Xander executed one of the nobles as they flew in closer. Byrn was struck dumb with horror as he watched Xander kill someone while wearing his body.
Southernstar let loose with a fireball that sped toward the black dragon and hit it directly, knocking it off balance, but it did not topple. She launched another fire attack before Byrn could say anything, but this time the black dragon was ready and erected a barrier to stop her magic.
The black dragon started to take flight and a black tendril wrapped around Janus at the waist. It hauled him up and into the reach of one of the black dragon’s claws, which held the king against his will as they took to the air to deal with Southernstar.
“I thought you were unable to fight?”
“That is not a natural dragon. It is a summoned spirit from the underworld. Therefore it cannot be truly killed and does not fall within the confines of the dragons’ code. If the humans fall from its grip, then I will save them.”
“Even Xander?” asked Byrn.
Southernstar did not answer.
The black dragon flew directly at them and Southernstar turned it away with a fireball. The black dragon twisted and tried to get behind Southernstar, nipping at her tail, but just missing. Xander was readying a spell and shot a black lightning bolt at them that narrowly missed as Southernstar twisted in the opposite direction.
The dragons flung fire at each other as they both tried to move into a position that would give them an advantage over their opponent, but they were too evenly matched. Xander and Byrn also flung magic at one another so that the sky was alight in fire and black lightning, but the speed with which the dragons moved was too fast for them to have much hope of hitting one another.
Again the black dragon charged at Southernstar and she spit more fire at it, but this time it did not turn away. With its shield raised it barreled through the spray of fire-breath and slammed into Southernstar with all of its might. Suddenly they were falling and the dragons bit and scratched at each other furiously with their hind legs. Southernstar’s left foreleg held back the black dragon’s massive jaws while she held Byrn in her right paw. The black dragon made no such concession for Janus who clung to its arm for his life while it held back Southernstar and her pointed teeth.
They spun to one side so that Southernstar was on the bottom as they fell and the black dragon used that opportunity to lurch its body forward and press down enough to clamp its teeth into her throat. The roar of pain from Southernstar as the black dragon ground its teeth into her neck to burrow through her scales caused Byrn’s ears to ring and he felt nauseous as they spun further out of control. He needed a purchase and he needed to help Southernstar. Almost without thinking about it he created a flame spear construct and drove it into the black dragon’s chest. Instead of letting go, the black dragon bit down harder and Byrn created another spear and stabbed the black dragon with it, this time aiming for the heart. Finally, it released its grip on Southernstar and the two dragons separated, but Byrn held onto the flame spears and stayed with the black dragon. He held onto one of the spears with his right hand and placed his left against the dragon’s belly. From his palm he shot a solid spike of flame directly into the dragon’s gut and it reared back as a cry of agony let loose in a deafening roar. It was trying to right itself and take flight again, but Byrn would not allow it. The advantage was his at the moment and if he lost it now, then he would never regain it against such a creature. He launched another burning spike towards the black dragon’s neck and it roared in defiance. It swung its claws frantically, but could not get a good swing at Byrn while he impaled it with spike after spike.
By the fifth or sixth spike, he heard Xander scream in surprise and knew that one of his spears had gone through the dragon completely and impaled the necromancer who still sat atop the black monstrosity. He watched as the last spike shook vigorously as Xander was undoubtedly trying to pull himself loose of his mount without success.
Janus lost his grip and fell away from them or perhaps he let go in an act of desperation, because a moment later a flood of black flames washed from all sides of the wraith-dragon as Xander attempted to destroy Byrn even if it meant going through his own creature. Now it was Byrn’s turn to let go and he pushed off of the dragon’s body that was quickly becoming engulfed by Xander’s attack.
His magic was nearly depleted as Byrn tried to conjure flame wing constructs to save him. They flared briefly, but quickly fizzled. A second attempt was only a little more successful, but ultimately he could not hold them together either.
It was the snapping of Southernstar’s jaws upon his cloak flapping in the wind that caught Byrn and saved him. He looked up at the dragon and noted that her neck was torn and bleeding profusely, but she held onto him. Janus, looking utterly terrified, clung to one of Southernstar’s forearms. His eyes were held closed and he was praying loudly for Ashura to save him.
The black dragon crashed into the middle of the square. Most of the fighting had stopped in favor of watching the aerial battle of legendary creatures and the non-combatants had managed some semblance of order and were being evacuated. The black dragon did not stir. Byrn’s spikes and spears were still buried in its chest and belly, but he could not focus enough to look for Xander and see if he had survived. Southernstar was still descending too rapidly. She lacked the strength to keep them airborne for much longer.
Chapter 36
“Are we going to just let them go?” Sane spun around and questioned Alia as Southernstar flew towards the battlefield with Byrn.
“Don’t be daft. I only told him we would stay here so that he would go. Byrn was not going to budge and
we didn’t have time to argue. So I lied to him. Now do you want to get us off of this roof, so that we can help him or not?”
“Come to me,” the sorcerer said and held out his arms. Alia hugged him tightly while Kaleb stood there watching them. “Kaleb,” Sane called and signaled with his hand for the boy to join them. When they had a firm grip on him, Sane wrapped his arms around them and closed the circle with his staff, holding one end in each hand.
“Hold on tight,” Alia told Kaleb just before the wind started swirling around them. It spun faster and faster and Sane could see Kaleb holding his breath for fear that it might get sucked away. Then they lifted from the ground and the boy let out a short yelp until he realized that the others showed no such fear.
The rooftop beneath their feet was replaced by a street far below and they began descending toward it at a pace that was swift, but safe. However, it was far more rapidly than Kaleb would have liked. He closed his eyes and gripped Sane with all of his strength, squeezing at his midsection until the sorcerer thought he might not be able to breathe either. Soon they landed roughly on the ground and Kaleb’s eyes opened cautiously to confirm that they were indeed on the street.
Alia thanked Sane and headed for the end of the street where they could hope to catch up with Byrn.
“You can let go of me now,” said Sane to Kaleb, who had not yet deigned to release his death grip.
“Sorry,” the boy answered breathlessly as he let go.
Sane got down on one knee so that they were eye to eye. “Do you remember that inn where you and Byrn were staying when we first met?”
Kaleb nodded, “It is not far.”
“Good I want you to run there and wait for us. This is too dangerous,” Sane added when he thought Kaleb was going to object.
“He is right,” added Alia. “We will find you once the fighting is over.” Her tone did not leave any room for argument.
Kaleb nodded and fought back the tears that were building in his eyes. Suddenly, he ran over to Alia and hugged her tightly. “I love you.” His words were hushed so that Sane could scarcely hear them. Alia stroked his hair gently.
“I love you too,” was her soft answer and Kaleb broke off their embrace and ran down a side street without looking back. Alia let out a heavy sigh and watched him go with her hand held absentmindedly over her heart. When he was gone from view Alia returned to Sane. “He will be alright,” she said, but Sane did not know if she was speaking to him or trying to convince herself.
They ran in the opposite direction from the way Kaleb had gone and were at the edge of the battle in a matter of minutes. A crowd of people tried to push past them in a frenzy to get away from whatever carnage was unfolding as the magicians rushed headlong into it. Sane understood their fear as he emerged into the square and saw the battle playing out before him. The magicians held the advantage of raw power, but the Kenzai and the regular soldiers still had the numbers. Sane watched as one magician was overran by a squad of kingdom troops while a few feet away another squad was being utterly decimated by a lone magician in a surge of lightning strikes. In some places there were summoned spirits and even an elemental or two fighting against Kenzai.
“We have to stop this or they are going to destroy each other completely,” said Sane.
“Let’s just cut a path through all of them so we can catch up to Byrn.” Alia pointed up to the sky and Sane saw a furious battle of two dragons in the sky. The red one was Southernstar, but he had no clue as to who the black one might be.
“No, we have to stop both sides from fighting. Period. This is what Byrn feared would happen and what he wanted to prevent: Magicians and regular people fighting until there was no one left.” She was about to object. The Collective had betrayed her, but she had fought against the lessers and Kenzai for so long that letting go of that hatred would not be an easy thing to accomplish. “Or would you rather help to forge a world in which non-magic users like Kaleb grow up to fight in battles just like this against magicians like Avelice?”
Alia cast a baleful stare at him. “I know you are trying to manipulate me into doing what you want,” she said in a chilling tone that warned Sane that she did not take kindly to such emotional trickery. Then she looked back to all of death playing out before her eyes. “I assume you have an idea of how to stop this.”
The sorcerer’s head swiveled around as he took in the whole of the battle playing out before them. It would not be a simple matter of a powerful spell meant to split apart the two groups. They were too well intertwined on the battlefield for that to work. Most of the fighting was relegated to the southern three quarters of the square. To the north stood the queen with a pair of royal guards. The men appeared nervous as they too watched the battle. It was obvious that they would rather take Queen Wendi away from this place and back to the supposed safety of the castle grounds, but the queen’s head was tilted up as she watched the two dragons flying and casting magic at one another. It was only then that Sane realized that Janus and Xander were nowhere in sight. He expanded his vision to look more closely at the black dragon and for a split second thought that he saw Byrn perched on its back, but he knew that must be Xander since Byrn would be with Southernstar. However, he could not see the black dragon’s forelegs from his position where he guessed Janus would be held if he were somehow up there with them.
“Get to the queen.” Sane pointed to the woman at the northern end. “Explain to her who you are and what we mean to do and I think she will help us stop this fighting. I will try and slow them all down in the meanwhile.”
Alia said, “Be careful, uncle,” and ran along the outside of the square towards the queen, leaving Sane alone to do his work.
He pictured the effects in his mind’s eye of a heavy rain falling on the soldiers and magicians. He saw it fall on them and chill their bones. Then he held his staff just above where the steel tipped blade protruded at the bottom and pointed it towards the sky. “Learion, grant me the knowledge to end this struggle if only for a moment. Ashura, help me in the saving of lives this day,” he prayed. Then with all of the magic at his disposal Sane sent an unending barrage into the clouds and they grew fat with rain even as the air grew deeply chilling in a matter of moments. The battlefield grew colder and colder, but most of the fighters were too caught up in their own battle lust to notice. Some of the guards turned their attention to him wondering what he was up to, but he paid them no mind and they were too busy fighting more direct threats to break off and come after him.
The rain fell lightly. The drops were cold, but they were still of small concern to those that fought for their very lives and the future of the kingdom. They hardly noticed that those droplets froze on their skin and armor or that their movements were slowed ever so slightly. Then the rain grew heavier and it was becoming more of a chore for the soldiers to swing their weapons. The rain beat down arrows so that they failed to meet their intended targets. Magicians found it difficult to concentrate on their spells as the chill took hold of them and the rain froze to their cloaks weighing them down. After a few minutes the storm that had been a minor annoyance, then a noticeable distraction, was now a deluge of freezing rain that covered the ground and everyone in the fight. People on both sides slipped and fell on the icy covered cobblestones and even in the grassy areas. Every swing of a blade was more labored and the combatants looked as if they were having trouble continuing, but refused to give up. The magicians were equally worn out. Their magic reserves were surely running out and the added distraction of the layers upon layers of ice that caked them made casting anything more than basic spells difficult. In the lethargy most of the non-combatants that were stuck in the middle of the fight were able to begin evacuating from the field and finding shelter in the adjoining streets and alleyways. Sane began to stumble, but found a nearby wall to lean on. He could do no more without a little bit of rest.
“Stop this fighting at once!” It was Alia. Her voice carried over the square and Sane dropped his staff wit
hout even thinking about it. He looked out at the soldiers and magicians and they were all doing the same. They were exhausted beyond belief and suddenly their last desires to fight seemed to be extinguished at least for the moment. “I am Alia Necros and I am the founder of the Collective. Magicians: you are to stand down now and do not pick back up your weapons.”
Some of the soldiers went to grab their swords and axes, but were called to a halt by a similar matriarch of authority. Queen Wendi shouted, “Loyal warriors of the kingdom of Aurelia, I call on you to lay your weapons down as well. This war has gone on long enough and we will know peace. Alia Necros and I have agreed to a parley between the noble houses and the leaders of the Collective of Magicians.”
“By the gods! Up in the sky!” shouted someone and everyone looked up to see the warring dragons. They were only dots in the sky high above, but were plummeting toward the square. Despite their precarious situation, they still fought intensely during their descent. It was difficult to gauge how far away they were with Sane’s diminished depth perception, but he knew they would crash soon if something did not change.
Then the dragons separated and each one tried to right itself. Southernstar was having some success slowing her descent, but the black dragon continue to spiral out of control. A figure fell from the black dragon and Southernstar swooped in to grab whoever it was. Then the black dragon was turned into a giant black fireball and a second body fell away. Flashes of fire sprang from the figure’s back once, then twice during his freefall. Byrn!
Sane was running toward where he thought they would land with his staff once more in hand before he even knew that he had begun to move. His heart was beating intensely and he began to feel faint, but he ignored the nausea in his stomach and pushed away the darkness that crept in at the edges of his vision.
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