Knights of the Wizard (of Knights and Wizards Book 2)

by Gallant, A. J.

  “Ash I hope that spell is coming real soon.” Zedock would soon have to go out and confront the monster, with disastrous results he was sure.

  The grey dragon launched a huge ball of fire, they all stared at it knowing that if Ash was right, and that the huge beast was also a wizard then they were all doomed, because who knew what magical properties lay within that fire. The deadly fireball was like watching an arrow approaching in slow motion, knowing that it was going to kill but not being able to do anything about it.

  “I got nothing!” Ash screamed.

  NINETEEN

  OBED, MERRILL, LANCE and STONE RODE NORTH in search of Berhtram and as Stone had told the king a bird was impossible to track without magic, but to appease Darius he had agreed to it, not that he could refuse his king in any case. There had been no sign of the raven dead or alive, all they had of his possible whereabouts was the general direction that he had flown, having been in pursuit of that damn crow. The search party was gone a day and a night and they stopped under the shade of about a dozen palm trees; they ate and drank as Stone considered whether to head back or not. May as well have been searching for a particular piece of straw in a hay stack, the odds were about the same. Darius was never irrational except when it came to that bird; he had had Adorok spell the raven so that it would live as long as he did, not to say that it couldn’t be killed by an arrow or other external factors. Stone thought that if the king would find a wife he wouldn’t pay so much attention to the raven.

  At least Alexa had had no desire to join them on this particular quest. Marcus had powered up the shield that surrounded Leeander but half the time it didn’t work, not good in the face of overwhelming odds or the tyranny of some advancing army with a wizard in their employ. It would also be nice if Marcus could draw because on the back of that dragon he could make a proper map of the land, almost every time Stone went out he could see errors in the supposedly current maps.

  Lance noticed dust being kicked up in the distance, six Dwagord warriors on black horses heading in their general direction, warriors that he had never seen before, strange cone shaped helmets and dressed in red and black. As they got closer he could see that their paths were going to take them to the east of them but then they altered their direction towards Stone and his men, perhaps they were seeking directions or maybe a confrontation. Stone preferred not to fight, not wanting any of his men to be killed, but knights often had no choice.

  Obed perused their peculiar armour. “Who the hell are they? They look foreign.”

  Stone didn’t like the looks of them, two had powerful looking axes as red as if they had just been taking out of the forge and the other three had a type of double edge halberds with sharp points that gleamed. “They’re heading right for us. Mind your tongues.”

  “Look at them,” said Merrill. “Arrogant looking devils. They certainly look like they mean business.”

  After several minutes they rode up, halting in front of the knights, just staring at Stone and the others for a time not saying a thing, a form of intimidation they supposed but knights could not be intimidated so easily. They were dark skinned with almond eyes, something that none of them had ever seen.

  “Where are you from?” Stone asked.

  When Neykkal spoke his words didn’t match his mouth; he was speaking some sort of foreign language but the translation came out in English. “We need several prisoners for interrogation.”

  “Did you see his mouth?” said Lance.

  Stone placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Then you best keep on looking. Their weapons are enchanted.”

  Obed placed an arrow in his bow and waited to see if they were going to attack, taking several steps back. “Stone, kill him first.” He gestured toward Neykkal believing him to be the leader of the group.

  “We mean you no harm,” said Stone. “You need to back up and continue on your way.”

  Neykkal snorted derision at the knights. They disembarked from their horses as if they were meeting friends but then attacked, their leader trying to take Stone’s head, but what would have been a fatal blow was blocked. Neykkal’s axe took the end off of Stone’s sword, just missing his neck and for his effort was caught in the throat by Obed’s arrow, went down struggling to breathe. Stone parried and cut the head off another, leaving only four of the strange warriors.

  “Watch that one!” Stone screamed.

  Another’s axe went through Lance’s breast plate with ease, opening a serious wound into him, and Stone took his head but the end of a halberd was jammed into his left shoulder. In the heat of battle there was no time for the pain, less the pain eased by one’s last breath. Lance dodged the point of a halberd and chopped into his opponent’s neck and shoulder, killing him.

  The two others continued to attack, even against the now superior odds, one took an arrow through his eye with the other being dispatched by a furious Stone. He knew that Lance needed to be stitched up less he bleed out and he was also bleeding from his shoulder wound. The battle had been fast and ferocious but the consequences extremely painful for Lance.

  Stone took one of the severed heads with him to show the king, to see if he would recognize these peculiar warriors, curious as to their origins.

  TWENTY

  MEREK GRABBED RAINA AND KISSED HER, slobbering all over her lips; Marcus tried hard to cast a spell to kill them but nothing happened, which infuriated him, because if he even sneezed a spell was cast. The sound of heavy footsteps caught everyone’s attention, someone else was making their way up the hill fast and Marcus was very happy to see it was his golden knight. Although surprised they remained confident as they had the numbers to make quick work of the knight.

  “Brother, kill them all!” Marcus commanded his knight. “But don’t hurt the girl.” He wasn’t sure how much the magical knight understood so he didn’t want to risk Raina getting injured.

  They attacked Brother but he went through them like a lumberjack cutting down small trees, cutting legs off several of them. He grabbed Merek by the neck, squeezing him so hard that he was forced to let go of the girl and with his sword he split the brigand in two equal pieces, forcing both Marcus and Raina to look away. The bloodied bodies were strewn about, with both halves of Merek lying side by side. It was an awful sight that Marcus would never forget.

  “Raina, should we go back?” Marcus wondered what else awaited them should they move forward.

  “I think we should continue on, your knight should be able to protect us. Marcus you do realize that you saved my life?” Raina went over and hugged him.

  Marcus looked down at the ground. “I didn’t do anything. I wanted to save you but I couldn’t.”

  Raina shook her head. “You created the knight that saved me so really you did save me.”

  The wizard shrugged as he lifted his head and smiled. Had he actually done something right for a change? “Maybe but I didn’t make him on purpose. I was sleepwalking.”

  She stared into his blue eyes. “Don’t make excuses. You made the knight that saved me and I want to thank you for that. You know what they were going to do to me?”

  “I know.”

  She hugged and kissed Marcus and they were both surprised when the knight came over and hugged the both of them. Raina giggled at the knight’s hug. “Marcus, let’s go see Tavarot. I have no doubt that one day you will become a great wizard, but a kingdom isn’t built in a day and neither is a wizard. Well maybe some kingdoms are built in a day with magic. Oh you know what I mean.”

  “I hope your right.”

  Several miles later the three of them pushed through the forest into a clearing with a cave in the middle, a magical creation Marcus thought. The cave certainly looked out of place. Outside the cave wasn’t very big at all but peering in they saw that it went for miles, a magical creation for sure, sconces in the walls gave illumination but it still looked scary in there. Ryxa flew in and landed.

  “I thought you told the knight to go back to the castle,”
said Ryxa.

  “I did,” said Marcus. “But it’s a good thing he didn’t he saved us from a bunch of brigands. If it wasn’t for Brother we’d both be dead right now.”

  Ryxa didn’t like the sound of that. “Where are they? I’ll burn them.”

  Tavarot appeared from around a corner inside the cavern, a tall lanky fellow with a scraggly beard that looked like it had never been cut, carrying a glowing orb that spun in his hand. He wasn’t supposed to be a wizard but he sure looked like one to Marcus, perhaps he was simply pretending not to be one.

  “What on earth are you two doing with a dragon?” said Tavarot.

  “The dragon’s name is Ryxa; she’s friends with Marcus believe it or not.” Ryxa gave Tavarot a hug. “I haven’t seen you in almost a year.”

  Tavarot went over to the golden knight, transferred the orb to his left hand and with his right pushed the visor up and was surprised to see no one in there. He reached his hand in and felt around but it truly was empty. “Whoever created this is very powerful. Fascinating. I wanted to see if I knew the fellow inside the armour but there’s no fellow to know. The amount of potent energy emanating from it is quite impressive.” Tavarot reached up and knocked on the knight’s head several times and the gesture was reciprocated, which made him laugh. “Who conjured him?”

  Marcus had never seen a person that looked so old; he appeared to have more wrinkles on his face than the ocean had waves. He raised his right hand to take credit for the knight. “I created him while I was sleepwalking.”

  “Tavarot,” said Raina, “can you help him? His magic is so unstable that he was banished from his own kingdom.”

  “Can you get them to mate?” said Ryxa.

  Ryxa’s comment made Tavarot furrow his bushy grey eyebrows but was otherwise ignored; staring at Marcus through the glass orb he then took two steps back as he realized what he was seeing. “Holy god a TarCranian wizard!”

  “A what?” Raina asked.

  “A TarCranian wizard is the highest of the high, there are no superiors to a TarCranian. I can’t believe it.” Tavarot was quite excited, had heard of them but never thought he’d ever see one. “Let me see your wand boy.”

  Marcus was puzzled. “What’s a wand?”

  “Is he trying to be funny?” Tavarot said to Raina. “I don’t appreciate my time being wasted you know. I have other things that I could be doing.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “A TarCranian sorcerer must have a wand to control his level of energy and to cast his spells, looks like a shapely stick I guess. A bow needs an arrow like a TarCranian needs a wand, only more so. A bow won’t turn you into a great big pile of horse shit.”

  Brother continued to watch and listen, always ready to defend the boy if necessary. The knight was aware that the strange old fellow was also producing magical energy, although his was at a much lower level than the boy’s.

  Marcus thought about Berhtram bringing him all those branches. Had he been trying to tell him that he needed a wand? How would the bird know? “Where do I get a wand?”

  “Boy you go stand over there, further than that, further.” Tavarot gestured with his hand for him to continue backing up. “Now don’t move from there boy. Raina, help me carry the tome into the light.” He placed the orb on the ground knowing that he was going to need it and then they entered the cavern.

  Once inside Raina noticed that it was brighter in there than it looked from the outside, brighter for a distance but then total darkness further in. A dowpoksoi servant appeared from out of the darkness carrying a metal lantern with several holes in the front emitting powerful beams of light being directed by the servant. They were as pale as snow and lived most of their lives underground, creating cities and towns beneath the earth. This one was muscular with blond hair that was covered with coal dust.

  “Tavarot, I’ve finally discovered the element. Do you want me to dig it out or wait for you?” Kratchmar asked.

  “Yes extract it I’ll be with you shortly.”

  Brother went over and stood with Marcus, placing his hand gently on the boy’s shoulder for comfort. He smiled up at the knight as Brother looked down at him. If he really needed a wand to create his enchantments then it wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t up to the required standard and that made him feel better. Why hadn’t Adorok known about such a thing?

  Ryxa looked back at Marcus who shrugged and when she looked inside the cavern a bee flew into her nose making her sneeze, the orb bounced off the cave and into her mouth, sliding down her throat. “Oh oh.” It felt warm and tingly in her stomach.

  Tavarot and Raina carried the tome out of the cave; the book itself was glowing as were the red letters with yellow symbols that Raina didn’t recognize. The book was the full length of her arm and quite heavy; they set it gently on the ground as Tavarot looked around for his orb. “Where’s my orb? I set it down right here. You don’t want to be fooling with that thing.” He looked over at Marcus who hadn’t moved. “Dragon?”

  At first Ryxa shrugged but then realizing how important it might be to the boy she admitted what happened. “I ah sneezed, it bounced and I swallowed it.”

  “Good gosh man, I mean dragon! Stand up straight and let me see your stomach.” Tavarot looked under the dragon and could see the white glow emanating from Ryxa. “Hold your mouth open.”

  Ryxa opened her mouth and watched as Tavarot gestured with his right hand and the orb made its way out of the dragon’s stomach and onto his hand, replete with hot stomach acid and other sludge. He wiped it on his robe which burned a large hole in it. He was not impressed.

  “Good god what have you been eating dragon? No humans I hope.” said Tavarot.

  Ryxa shook her head. “Most dragons don’t eat humans, although in anger I suppose they might, you know if we were attacked but it would be for revenge not nourishment. But then again maybe some dragons might have a taste for humans. Everyone’s different so who can say for certain? I know from experience a few dragons that are quite cantankerous.”

  He had never been so close to a dragon and didn’t realize that they were so talkative; then again perhaps it was just this one. “That’ll suffice Dragon. I don’t need a history lesson.”

  “So the book will tell us where Marcus can find a wand?” Raina asked.

  Tavarot opened the book to roughly the middle and placed the orb on it. “Not just any old wand Raina; he has to find his wand.”

  Raina looked puzzled. “But he didn’t even know such a thing existed until you told him.”

  Tavarot cracked his back. “It’s like this girl, when such a potent sorcerer is created so is his wand, usually inside a tree from what I’ve read. How difficult it will be for the boy to locate that specific tree I cannot say. Some say that a wand cannot be found until one is ready for it but people spew a lot of gobbledygook so who knows.”

  It all sounded confusing to the girl and even more so to Marcus. “How will he get the wand out of the tree?”

  Marcus tried to imagine it. “How did my wand get inside a tree? Who put it in there?”

  “It’s a magical thing boy, when you were born so was the wand created.” Tavarot picked up the orb and held it to his forehead. “You’ll have to cut it out.”

  Raina thought about that. “So the wand really isn’t inside the tree, he has to carve it out of the tree?”

  Marcus looked up at Brother. “How could the wand have been put inside a tree when I was born? I wasn’t even a wizard then.”

  The golden knight shrugged, the sound of metal rubbing against metal.

  Tavarot shook his head. “No it really is inside the tree. Now hush girl while I concentrate.”

  She watched as the orb now looked as if it had clouds inside it, floating from his forehead back over to the tome it set itself down in the middle of the page as everyone watched curiously. It spun as it went through what must have been a hundred pages, and then backtracked several. Tavarot knelt down and stared at the two pages, o
ne showed the kingdom of Kaday, the other page showed a history of a knight named Knightfell. Then the orb jumped up and down several times on the kingdom, letting him know that it was important.

  Tavarot cleared his throat. “Okay, so the boy’s wand is either in or around Kaday or someone in Kaday knows where it might possibly be located.”

  Raina stared at Tavarot as he stood up, as if to say you got to be kidding? “The odds don’t sound very good at all.”

  “That’s the best that I can do girl. Hopefully the wizard will feel a pull as he gets close to his wand.”

  Raina was still trying to get her head around it. “Kaday is a long ways from here.”

  Tavarot gestured for Marcus to approach and explained the situation to him and also informed him that he needed to be the one to cut down the tree and cut the wand out of it.

  TWENTY-ONE

  GREY SKIES RELEASED A MODERATE RAIN and a crack of thunder made the crows fly away seeking shelter, one last glance at Berhtram who lay lifeless on the ground, both wings broken. The rain hit the bird hard, pelting its eyes and beak bringing it back to consciousness, being confused by its situation and then slowly remembering. Berhtram stood up and then hopped around awkwardly, trying hard to take to the air but it was no use, couldn’t stand the pain of flapping his wings. The raven was in so much pain that it didn’t know what to do with itself, toppling over it blinked several times. Berhtram thought that he would simply close his eyes and perish.

  Ackley shot a rock out of his sling, hitting a crow and killing it, watching it hit the ground. He picked up the bird and stuffed it into his leather bag that was hung over his left shoulder, the third kill of the day. He was eleven and liked to put food on the table; his father was dead and it fell on him and his older brothers to provide for the family. He swung his rock over his head, launched and hit a white birch tree dead center and liked the sound it had made. Movement to his left caught his eye, observing the raven struggling on the ground. The bird looked like it was fatally injured. Ackley could stomp on it and put it out of its misery.