After a day and a half the archers had set up camp at the bottom of the cliff. They started a fire after sundown, while continuing to monitor the dangerous dragon. Charox was surprised to see two knights on black horses approach him from behind, both holding lochaber axes and a white flag. They bowed to the dragon as a sign of respect. What was this now? Some sort of trick? The dragon snorted and the humans were hit with a blast of hot air.
“We mean you no harm,” said Kroll. The knight raised his visor and he couldn’t believe how massive the dragon actually was; he was face to face with a monster, not knowing if he would survive the encounter and it was terrifying. Dragons were big in comparison to humans but this one was huge, the largest he’d ever seen. He had never fully believed the stories told around campfires about the grey dragons but unfortunately they hadn’t been exaggerated.
“Wouldn’t do you much good even if you did mean me harm,” said Charox.
Kroll didn’t like the look of smugness on the dragon’s scaly face but he was in no position to do anything about it. They did have their own wizard but he wasn’t of the highest grade and might not be much defense against such a monster. “King Yilor asks what your intentions are concerning Fairfall. Perhaps we can offer you food to move along?”
The dragon brought his huge eye up to the knights and examined them. “You want to know what my intentions are. Well, let me think. I’m going to smash your kingdom and burn most of you alive but I guess I will crush some of you. And I’ll probably eat a handful of you as well.”
Kroll looked at his fellow knight and then back at the dragon. “I sincerely hope that you are jesting dragon. We have done absolutely nothing to you to have gained your ire. Why would you want to do such a thing? Our kingdom is peaceful and we only seek to defend ourselves.”
“Well defend yourselves then,” said Charox. He picked up Kroll between his two claws and held him over the cliff. “Do you think that you can survive a drop from this height?”
“I will not,” said the knight, trying hard to remain calm but it wasn’t working. Death was coming for him and he knew it.
“Humans are stupid things; they can’t even fly.” Charox dropped him off the cliff to his death. The other knight ran, unfortunately a fireball caught up with him, melting his suit of armour and turning him to ash, leaving the odour of burnt flesh in the air. The dragon took in the scent and approved.
Arrows were loosed by the hundreds; a lot of them simply bouncing off his scales like rain off a castle wall, but the magical ones went in right up to their fletching and burned, a lot like a bee sting to a human, which infuriated Charox. Sticking his head over the cliff he inhaled deeply and exhaled a great wall of fire, but to his surprise it scorched the surrounding area, turning some of the rocks at the bottom of the cliff red hot, but not a single casualty amongst the archers. It was a fire protection spell and since his fire was magical it must have been a spell that a wizard had worked long and hard on.
“You little maggots!” The dragon spread his wings, flying down he landed on many archers with a thud, killing dozens of them and receiving a lot more of the painful arrows in the process. He flicked his tail and killed dozens more, crushing bones and decapitating several of them, and then he stomped a bunch of them to death. About a dozen tried to run but he caught up to them and flattened them as well, then taking to the air he headed for the kingdom of Fairfall, he could see the spire of the castle in the distance. They were going to pay for their insolence; of course he wasn’t going to show them any mercy even if they hadn’t done anything at all.
Charox hit the castle knocking down one of the towers and part of its wall, scaring the hell out of everyone inside. In no time at all he had demolished it, killing everyone, taking to the air he burned the rest of the kingdom to the ground, huts and shacks and animals were burnt to a crisp. The dragon was forced to set down with a thump. He felt peculiar. A dizziness came upon him as the poison from the arrows commenced to make its way through his system; he sat down as everything started to spin, making him feel nauseous and with loud nasty retches he vomited up embers, and the sound of a belch echoing for miles. A nasty bout of diarrhea hit the grey dragon, shooting out of his rear like molten lava, burning down trees and scorching the earth. His ass was on fire literally.
Charox didn’t know what to do; he had never felt this bad before. It was coming out of both ends with force. He considered that he might be dying; he stood up with shaky legs but then quickly collapsed.
THIRTY-FOUR
IT WAS A GREY MORNING, a long lasting drizzle saturating the ground. Two young black dragons were pursuing one another, practicing their hunting skills, having great fun as they did so, one grabbing and holding on to the others tail until he was shaken off. The other tried to grab his tail in retaliation but wasn’t able to do so.
Berhtram was feeling a little better, now eating and drinking and regaining some strength, hopping around inside the hovel. It was more than a little distressing not being able to fly, as natural to a bird as walking to a human but he wasn’t about to give up, might spend the rest of his life trying to fly but so far all he could manage was to launch himself a bit like a chicken. He had explored every inch of the hut and was tempted to wander outside but he knew there could be danger out there for a flightless bird.
The raven missed Darius, wasn’t sure how far or even in which direction he was in, from the air he could fly to Leeander in no time but on the ground it was a completely different matter, it was confusing. Never mind that he remained in a weakened state. Berhtram bounded over to a hard piece of bread on the floor and ate from it, then drank from the wooden bowl, remembering how he had stuffed the bed post with bread in the king’s chamber, wishing he was back there again. He pictured himself on the king’s shoulder and would have smiled had he been able. After drinking he bounced from the kitchen to the bedroom, the exercise making him feel a little better, launching himself up and onto the back of a goat, just barely making it up there.
Outside the two-room hut an unkempt white cat with blue eyes stopped in its tracks, catching the movement of Berhtram hopping across the doorway. It was a skinny thing that looked as though someone had dragged it through the mud, and in fact someone had. It made itself small as it surreptitiously stalked the bird, watching and waiting for the proper time to pounce, its forward movement as slow as molasses. Such a meal to a hungry feline couldn’t be ignored; instinct was strong when one was hungry, the will to survive inescapable.
The cat crawled forward, prepared to enter the hut if necessary; Berhtram bounced by once again, stopping as he noticed the cat but it was too late. The feline pounced and grabbed the bird, running off with it. Millicent pursued the cat but alas there was no catching the beast, both it and the raven were gone.
THIRTY-FIVE
MARCUS, RAINA AND THE TWO KNIGHTS were on the outskirts of Kaday and so far the boy didn’t feel a pull towards his wand, thinking they might be wasting their time no matter how much he needed that thing. They decided to camp for the night, near a tall palm tree that was out of place, conjured by a wizard more than a thousand years ago; the tree had a purple hue.
Sundown was just over two hours away and Ryxa lay down and went to sleep, shaking the ground when she lay her head down. The two golden knights commenced to walk the perimeter together, whispering to one another as they went, if Marcus didn’t know any better he’d say they were smitten. His knights appeared to be more human than he originally thought, still disturbing to see nothing inside those suits of armor. Did they have feelings just like real people? What if they were ghosts that he had trapped in there? They appeared to be content guarding the boy, not needing to sleep or eat. Magic wasn’t fully understood by anyone, even by the sorcerers that spent their lives dishing it out, at least that’s what Adorok had told him.
Raina spotted more than two dozen of the Dwagord in the distance, on a hill towards the horizon, gathering around a large horse drawn cart that held arrows and foodstuf
f. They were up to something but what they couldn’t say, and as they watched a purple haze surrounded them, with sparkles of light dancing within. Some sort of magic was being cast, perhaps one day a battle would ensue between the boy and one of their wizard’s. Although little was known about the new people one thing was sure, they were aggressive warmongers and looked as though they would be big trouble. It was unlikely that they would attack, Ryxa would burn them alive but they were wary of them nonetheless. Brother and Kadyn stared at the Dwagord but were satisfied when they vanished off the horizon.
Several kingdoms were already bolstering their armies as word spread of the strange people that had suddenly appeared causing death and destruction, but many kingdoms were still weakened because of the Yurrosy.
Ryxa sneezed in her sleep, launching a ball of fire that was a little too close for comfort, and had Marcus been standing a little to the left he’d have been burned alive. Another loud sneeze was low with a deep rumble, her nose actually hitting the ground, fire spreading out for quite a ways; a groundhog pushed his head out of the ground to see what was going on. Ryxa stood up and sneezed several more times she wasn’t feeling very well, her feet felt cold and a dragon was never cold. “Marcus I don’t feel good. I think I’m catching something.”
The boy noticed that she didn’t look good either; her face was stressed, she looked sick. He had never heard of a dragon catching a cold but he imagined he could fill the castle with things he didn’t know about dragons. “Are you okay?”
“Feel my head,” said the dragon.
Marcus climbed up on Ryxa and felt her head. “Your head is so cold I can barely touch it, it’s like ice.”
“I was afraid of that,” said Ryxa. “A dragon catching a cold is rare but it can be very serious. I need to go and get help; if my fire goes out I’m done for.”
Marcus knew they would be a lot more vulnerable without the dragon but he loved her and didn’t want anything to happen to her, desperately hoping that she would be okay. “Then you should go. Come find us when you feel better.”
Ryxa nodded and took to the air, fire exited her nose several times as she flew off, and this time there was black smoke within the flame; the wizard guessed that it wasn’t a good sign. What would he do without Ryxa? He would never be able to befriend another dragon, never mind the fact that she was one of a kind. Such thoughts were so disturbing that he was forced to push them from his mind; she would be fine she had to be.
“Do you think they cast a spell that made her sick?” asked Raina.
“I was thinking the same thing,” said Marcus. “I hope not.”
The stars were bright that night. They had set up two separate tents, one for each of them, but Raina was feeling uneasy and she made her way into where Marcus was prone and thinking, a single candle casting light.
“You’re still awake?” she said.
“Yes awake and thinking about Ryxa,” said Marcus. He yawned and then listened to the wolves howling, they didn’t sound close and he imagined Brother and Kayden could take care of them but still it gave him pause.
Raina lay flat beside him. “She’ll be okay. How did you come to be friends with a dragon?
Marcus smiled as he remembered. “I climbed up a steep cliff and she was up there. I actually fell off and she saved me. I think she’s so beautiful.”
Raina smiled. “She is that but scary too.”
The harsh sounds of swords clashing made them both jump; outside the tent the knights were battling more than two dozen of the Dwagord, having already killed six of them but Brother was pounced upon and held down as others tied his arms and legs. When Marcus looked out through the tent their torches lit up the night, Kadyn cut one of them in two, their halberds bouncing off her with no effect, but they were trying to get her down so that they could secure her as well.
Marcus took his knife and cut a hole into the back of the tent. “Raina, we have to make a run for it! They have Brother on the ground and are ganging up on Kadyn. There’s too many of them.”
Marcus and Raina ran off into the night.
THIRTY-SIX
MARCUS’S KNIGHTS HAD BEEN TAKEN back to King Kai, bouncing around in the back of the horse drawn cart. The golden knights had struggled to free themselves but a guard watched them closely, knowing that they were dangerous and should they break free it would not be pleasant, adding even more rope to secure them. They arrived under cloudy skies and light rain, where king Kai was going over strategy with the one-eyed general in the castle’s courtyard. Kai stared down at the two knights prone in the cart; his wizard had had a vision of them.
“General, have you secured the dragon?”
“He’s secured your majesty; the size of the beast is unbelievable.” Dochacra nodded. “It’s the largest dragon that we have ever seen. Daijulan is working on an enchantment.”
“Keep me informed,” said Kai. “That dragon cannot be allowed to free itself. I would suggest that you add more bindings.”
“So you have them?” said general Dochacra.
“They fight like demons,” said Kranchar. “Killed many of our warriors. They’re not human, enchanted things that may not be able to die.”
The sorcerer Chancailu approached the knights, happy to see that they had managed to capture the conjured warriors. He went over to them and pushed up Brother’s visor. “Look at this, no one’s inside the armour?” He pushed his hand inside and felt around. “Nothing. Perhaps it’s a spirit from the netherworld? Such complicated energy flows from the both of them, bring them to my chamber where I’ll try to break down the spell. Bring their swords as well, the same energy runs through their weapons. It’s an amazing enchantment and hopefully I can learn from it.”
Inside Chancailu’s chamber the two knights were lying on the floor, staring and whispering to one another. Outside the chamber two guards with battle axes watched and waited for trouble, one checking the sharpness of his blade. There were more than a dozen tomes around the chamber, some pilfered from past enemies and others passed down from one generation to the next. One wall had nine tomes mounted on it forming a perfect square, radiating red energy. The walls were purposely covered in black ash from a fiery spell, with animals drawn in blood by the sorcerer’s finger, one red dragon over the doorway, several eagles and a single tiger. A spell could sometimes be pulled from an enchanted object and dissected if a wizard knew what he was doing, thereby learning how to cast the very same spell. King Kai would love to be surrounded by such powerful guards.
The sorcerer tried hard to remove Kadyn’s helmet but was unable to do so, cutting his hand on her visor, two drops of blood fell onto the gorget that protected her throat, had she a throat to protect. He kicked the knight injuring his right foot, breaking the bone in his baby toe, cursing, jumping and limping around. Chancailu limped to the oak table where he kept lots of magical ingredients in glowing red containers, grumbling as he did so, the brighter the glow the fuller the container. He mixed a paste of three magical ingredients, rolling it into a mauve ball; making it float between his two hands as he infused it with magical properties that would seek out the spell and copy it for the wizard to study. It could take a while to break down such a powerful enchantment.
He went over to Brother who watched as the sorcerer bent down and squashed the ball flat onto his breastplate, over the area where his heart would be located. At that point something should have happened, specifically green acrid vapor should have been released as it cut into the spell but there wasn’t any. How odd? Were they equipped with such formidable spells of protection that they were undetectable? Was the boy not only powerful but a genius as well?
The sorcerer yawned as it had been such a long day, perhaps it was time to get some sleep; he would have a clearer head in the morning. A tired mind was not conducive to inspired ideas. The mystery of the knights could take weeks to tackle. Perhaps his concoction simply needed extra time and so he decided to call it a night.
THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAROX OPENED HIS EYES still feeling a little woozy, observing that he was surrounded by the rubble of Fairfall, but he was now securely anchored to the ground by rope and long stringy leather magic. More than two hundred of the Dwagord looked on, now backing up as the dragon stared at them, not knowing for sure if the bindings would hold the beast. The dragon’s eyes conveyed much hate as he attempted to break free and he was strong enough to do so but he was unable to get any leverage, even his tail was incapable of movement, without at least a little leverage it might be impossible to escape but he was a wizard.
“The beast is awake.” General Caius was happy to take advantage of the dragon, with such a monster under their control they could accomplish much. However it would take a lot of time and effort to keep it fed.
“I am going to kill every single one of you!” Charox screamed. “Gonna pull your arms and legs off!” He commenced to blink his eyes as he searched for spells to cast but his mind was blank. He couldn’t pull up a single spell. How strange and frightening it was for a wizard to not have access to his magic. The poison, although slightly diminished, continued to flow inside Charox, interfering with his ability to cast spells. Who the hell were these humans that could take away his power? They weren’t going to get away with this.
“Get more rope over him!” barked Daijulan. “Now that the beast is awake we are in great danger should he manage to break free.”
Charox tried to take in a deep breath to that he could launch a mighty ball of fire but he couldn’t do it, was unable to breathe deeply, unable to produce any fire at all. Had he been a normal sized dragon the poison would have killed him for sure. He continued to blink in order to bring up a spell but had nothing and that was even more disturbing than being tied down.
Knights of the Wizard (of Knights and Wizards Book 2) Page 12
