Redemption Of The Sacred Land (Book 3)

by Mark Tyson

  Trendan followed Veric out of Fornorth out into the plains. They ran for hours, not slowing until fatigue had at last taken its toll. Eventually, their pursuers stopped, or Trendan and Veric had simply outrun them and left them behind. They stopped to take a breath. Night was falling over the land now. Trendan could see in the dark with his half-elven eyes.

  “Did we lose them?” Trendan asked Veric.

  “I doubt it.” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were yellow and unnatural. Trendan backed away from him. Had he been touched by one of them?

  “Relax, I need to see in the dark as you do. This is a dragon knight ability.”

  “Is there a way to save them?”

  “I don’t think so. The evil of this land destroyed it. If there was a way around here to stop it, I should think someone would have used it to save everyone.”

  “I don’t believe it. There has to be a way,” Trendan said.

  “Even the clerics of life fell victim to it. What can we do?” He looked up at the darkening sky. “We need to continue on. I think there is a forest up ahead. There is a city among the trees there. Maybe we can rest up on the platforms. If we are still pursued, maybe they will not be able to get to us up there.”

  “It’s nightfall, and I don’t see any other places around to camp. Maybe Dorenn and the rest stopped in this tree city as well,” Trendan said.

  “It’s likely you are correct. Come on,” Veric started to jog down the road.

  Trendan looked back behind him and saw only the darkened road. He turned back to Veric and ran to catch up to him.

  Chapter 16: Dragon’s Fire

  The full moon over the treetops brightened the platforms enough to see, allowing the party to set up camp for the night. Morgoran did not allow them to build a fire or use magic, so everyone had a meal of dried meat and cheese with some wine to wash it all down. It was a quick meal, and then everyone went off to secure their camp.

  As soon as the others were settled, Dorenn made his way around the others to locate Seandara. “You recognize this place as well as I do, don’t you.”

  “Of course I do. I think it would be best if you stayed away from me tonight. Maybe the dreams won’t come true if you are not near me.”

  “I don’t think it works that way, but it’s worth a shot,” he said. “I won’t be too far away. Shout if you see anything, and I will come running.” He left her to go find Morgoran.

  The old wielder was smoking a pipe with Gondrial on an adjoining platform. “I would think the smell of tabac would attract danger as easily as a fire,” Dorenn said.

  “It’s the light of the fire, not the smell of the smoke, that attracts, I would think,” Gondrial said.

  Morgoran thought a moment and then dumped out his pipe. “Best not to take the chance. Dorenn could be right.”

  Gondrial took a couple more puffs on his pipe before he, too, extinguished the ashes inside it.

  Morgoran pointed with the stem of his pipe. “That way is the road out of here. Our next town is Middlebury. We are halfway to Salderwick.”

  “Morgoran, do you remember those dreams I once told you about?” Dorenn asked.

  “Aye, the ones you had of Seandara. The ones Sildariel feared.”

  “The same,” he said. “Seandara and I both agree. We think these are the platforms we saw in our dreams.”

  “I thought you saw the platforms of Endil,” Morgoran said.

  “I thought so, too, until we arrived here. Now I am surer than ever that this is the place.”

  “Very well, I say we keep you separated and post the night watch near Seandara. She will come to no harm here if I can help it.”

  “Thank you. That would make me feel much better.”

  “Wait a moment. Morgoran and I were just talking, and I think we both find it odd that you are not talking to us about rescuing Tatrice. In fact, you don’t seem concerned at all,” Gondrial said.

  “Tatrice made it very clear to me the last time we spoke that she was a dragon knight and could take care of herself. Bren also seems to have her rescue well in hand. I don’t seem concerned because I’m not. I know Tatrice, and I know she will find a way to break the illusion and see the truth. We will find her. I’m sure of it. I’m more worried about Toborne when she breaks his spell.”

  “Well spoken,” Morgoran said. “Why don’t you try to sleep. We have the first watch, and we will make sure nothing happens to Seandara,” Morgoran said.

  Dorenn nodded and went to his chosen spot for camp, a place just inside a roofless hut on the platform within shouting distance of Seandara. He bed down for some sleep.

  It didn’t seem more than a few moments after he fell asleep when he was jostled out of sleep by commotion. He grabbed ahold of Dranmalin and went to investigate. He was relieved when he saw Trendan and Veric talking to Morgoran and Gondrial. As he approached, he realized something was not right.

  “I’m not sure if we lost them or if they are still behind us somewhere,” Trendan was saying.

  “Who are you talking about?” Dorenn asked. “And where is the rest of your party?”

  “They are corrupted. Deylia touched one of the axes on the ground near Fornorth and brought an evil curse upon her and the others. Trendan and I narrowly escaped.”

  “We think they may still be following us, trying to bring us into their fold with a touch,” Trendan said.

  “You can both calm down. Unless they can fly, we are safe up here among the trees,” Dorenn said.

  “We don’t know what they are capable of,” Ianthill said. “One favor you can do for me, Dorenn, is to get the Tome of Enlightenment, and we will see if there is a counter to the curse.”

  “You don’t want to lose your friends this way!” Trendan said. “If there is a way to save them in the tome, I think we should attempt it.”

  A scream from behind drew their attention. “That was Seandara!” Dorenn said. He ran down the platform to her. His mind went into a feeling of extreme familiarity with the situation. He jumped across the platform to see Seandara being pulled by her boots. He dove for her hands as she was pulled over the edge and caught them both. He could not turn away. Her facial expression pleaded with him not to let her fall, but he felt her fingers slipping from his. His footing abruptly failed him, and her hand slipped from his grasp. He watched in horror as she fell. The black-shadowed creatures screamed for her blood as they pulled her down through the tree branches. Their ugly, leathery wings thrashed in the nearby leaves. Then he saw what he thought were wings were actually cloaks catching on the branches. He hesitated, his mind in a fog, but then he remembered who he was, what he was. He concentrated from the depths of his soul to call forth the essence of all things around him. He let the power of life and existence penetrate him. Arcane essence infiltrated his mind until he felt he could no longer contain it. He thought of her in a safe place and released the energy.

  A whoosh of cool air washed over him as he opened his eyes, searching for the faint light of her disappearing into his force of will. The light bathed her in a brief, pale glow. She no longer fell, and the creatures, realizing their prize was cruelly stripped from them, screamed in frustration before they regrouped and began climbing back up the huge tree trunks to the platforms above, transfixed on Dorenn. Horrified, he saw the faces of Sanmir, Kimala, Fayne, Vesperin, and Deylia. They were not hideous creatures trying to claw at him; they were his friends! Dorenn stood panicked as his cursed friends reached the platform. Frantically, he searched for his sword Dranmalin. He had had it with him, but then he realized he had sat it down back at his hut. The creatures that were his friends reached for him. Then he realized the meaning of the dreams. They were not actually about Seandara. They were about saving his friends. He turned to run back to his hut when he saw Seandara already had. She stood behind him, holding the Tome of Enlightenment. Dorenn smiled at her and took the book. He opened it, and its pages started flipping wildly, stopping on the passage. The Curse of Lux Amarou. H
e began reading the passage that appeared there for him. He was able to read what he needed from the tome as it had promised him. He read as fast as he could. His friends were getting their footing on the platform now. He drew in essence as he read the spell out loud.

  When he was done, the tome slammed shut and fell to the platform. Dorenn rose up into the air, bathed in white light. The tree tops opened, and white light came from the skies. All he could think about was this light was a beacon to all the evil of Lux Amarou to come find and attack them—a strange thing to consider in the middle of a cleansing spell.

  The light from the skies caught his friends in its glow, and they collapsed one by one, bathed in it. When it was done, Dorenn returned to the platform unharmed. He went to Vesperin first. The cleric was sound asleep.

  “The dream,” Seandara said. “It was instructions on what I should do for you.” She abruptly embraced him, and he embraced her back.

  “Somehow, I don’t think that’s all the dreams were about,” he said.

  “Let this be a lesson to everyone,” Morgoran said when the others had shown up to see what the fuss was about. “Don’t touch anything here.” He looked at Gondrial’s amulet. “You should probably get rid of that, too. There’s no telling what kind of danger you are getting into wearing that thing.”

  “I like it. I checked it for evil. It isn’t,” Gondrial said.

  “Get rid of it, Gondrial!” Morgoran said as he walked away.

  Gondrial tucked it inside his tunic. “It isn’t evil,” he muttered.

  “What should we do about Sanmir and the rest?” Dorenn asked Ianthill.

  “Let them sleep. They are probably exhausted from running all the way here after Trendan and Veric. I’ll keep my eye on them.”

  Morning came to Lux Amarou, but the oppressive clouds still remained. Morning did not feel like the mornings Dorenn was used to; this one felt empty and depressing. His one and only joy was seeing Seandara emerge from her bedroll as pretty a woman he had ever seen.

  They were fed, packed, and on the road like nothing had ever happened and traveling the road to Middlebury in mere moments. Morgoran pushed them forward at a breakneck pace now that they were all together. He had no intention of staying in Lux Amarou any longer than he had to. During the night, Gondrial reported seeing shadows passing the woods. Morgoran speculated it could have been Toborne getting the drop on the group. Lingering so the others could catch up put the group behind in his mind.

  It was nightfall when they reached Armsford, the last town before Salderwick. Only a half a day away from Salderwick, Morgoran was grumpy when they had to stop for the night.

  Not much happened on the nightwatch. There was enough people in the party to take short shifts and still get plenty of sleep.

  Once again, when morning came, Morgoran hurried them along. As noon passed and they dined on more dried meats and cheese, Dorenn caught his first glimpse of Salderwick. It was a walled city with magnificant towers and buildings rising above it. Portions of the walls were either crumbed or evidence of a breach from a battle long ago. The main gate they headed for was broken and battered as if it was bashed in with a battering ram, and it probably was. Weathering had worn down the sharp edges of the walls, but surprisingly, vegetation had not taken over the city as he would have expected.

  “The archives, where the Myradon Codex is likely to be found, is at the center of town, in a building near the king’s throne room,” Ianthill said.

  They entered the city through the broken gate and traveled through its debris-laden streets to the archives. They saw nothing more than rats scurrying back and forth. Evening was passing into late evening as they reached the archive building, in which Morgoran led them. Once inside, Dorenn was struck by the feeling he had passed into greatness. The building was a magnificent structure, with high-vaulted ceilings and shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls perfectly preserved behind ribbons of essence. Someone had found a way to preserve the books from the ravages of time.

  Morgoran found the Myradon Codex right where the Tome of Enlightenment said it was, displayed in a glass case protected by traps and spells. Morgoran defeated the traps and took the tome from its case. He handed the thick bound book to Dorenn.

  “So this is the Myradon Codex,” he said. He opened it, and its pages showed him what he would use to defeat the Oracle—true dragon’s fire.

  Morgoran nodded. “It is, and you can bet that if Toborne is here somewhere, he will try to steal it from you. You had better put it away in your pack.” Dorenn read the passage that was clearly there for him to read, if the tome acted the same way the Tome of Enlightenment worked, and then he shut the book and held it close to his chest.

  When they left the archives, Morgoran was already producing the Lora Daines to transport them back to the ships instantly, but the stones would not work. Dorenn, at first, thought they had been betrayed by the dragons, and especially King Amarantus, until he noticed Toborne, Bannon, and Tatrice standing near a bridge close to the road out of the city. Toborne was clearly preparing to take the Myradon Codex from him. Several dark dragons that were circling in the skies landed next, behind Toborne. Tatrice was clearly still under his spell. Bren took two steps forward but stopped when he saw Dorenn shake his head.

  The dragons began to advance, and Dorenn held up the Myradon Codex over his head.

  “I have the Myradon Condex. I have the secret of dragon’s fire. I read the spell and committed it to memory.”

  “You do not have the skill to use it,” the lead dragon said. “You must know dragon magic.”

  Dorenn put the Myradon Codex in his pack next to the Tome of Enlightenment. He cupped his hands together and breathed into them before thrusting them outward. A plume of flame from Dorenn’s hands engulfed the lead dragon. It screamed and roared. The flames quickly dissipated off its glistening black scales.

  “Just a small taste. Shall I demonstrate it at full power? We are standing on Lux Amarou, a land of arcane power.” He thought his words were a bit silly but effective.

  The lead dragon narrowed its eyes, trying to decide if Dorenn was telling him the truth, or if the small demonstration was the extent of Dorenn’s command over the dragon’s fire.

  “We shall not be party to the attack of the one who holds our sacred text,” the dragon said to Toborne. He took flight, and the others followed.

  “Clever boy,” Toborne said. “But as you say, there is arcane power here. I know how to use it.”

  Morgoran and Ianthill joined in behind Dorenn.

  “As do we,” Morgoran said. “Can’t you see you cannot win this fight, Toborne?”

  For a brief moment, Dorenn felt like Morgoran and Ianthill were working with Toborne, but when Rennon and Deylia stepped forward, the feeling was gone.

  “There will be no illusions this time, Toborne,” Dorenn said. “I will give you a chance to surrender and turn yourself into us. Together we can defeat the Oracle. There is no need to go any further.”

  Hatred burned in Toborne’s eyes. “It is you who should surrender to me. When the Oracle regains his strength, there will be nowhere for you to hide.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Dorenn saw Deylia make some sort of gesture. Tatrice, in a flash of blades, cut down Bannon. Free from his illusion, she ran toward Dorenn and his party. Dorenn watched in horror as Toborne put her down with a spell. Bren, who had been ready to pounce, took the opportunity to attack. He made his way to Toborne and thrust his dragon claw and dragon fang at Toborne, but the wizard repelled him backward before his sword blow fell.

  “Pathetic!” he said. “You are all pathetic.” He laid into Bren with a plume of blackfire. Morgoran leaped into action, followed by Ianthill and Lady Shey. Gondrial also began to draw essence. Vesperin and Fayne went to help Tatrice and Bren.

  The battle had not been joined long before hoards of skeletons poured into the streets, attracted by the blatant use of essence. Dorenn unsheathed Dranmalin and began cutting down the s
keletons, aware that it was only a matter of time before another titan or worse appeared.

  It was Veric who gained the upper hand. He stepped into the shadows and appeared behind Toborne in one fluid move. His daggers cut through Toborne in a devastating backstab. The evil man fell to his knees, where Veric rounded his daggers at his throat and pulled back with incredible force. Toborne’s head rolled forward onto the ground. He was dead. Dorenn could see Toborne’s essence leave the body it occupied. A moment later, it was moving toward him. His first instinct was to run. Toborne was trying to enter his body like he did with Drakkius. Dorenn didn’t get far when he felt Toborne’s whole essence, not just an essence shard, enter him.

  “Eveyone get to me!” Morgoran cried. “Hold hands or touch one another so I can get us all out of here.” Dorenn regained his composure and stubbled toward Morgoran. Three titan skeletons appeared in the streets, heading straight for them. Dorenn was the last to get to the group. Tatrice, Bren, Deylia, and Kimala were all on the ground wounded. Seandara fired arrows up to the point where Dorenn joined the group. As soon as he touched Morgoran, they were at the docks where the ships were waiting. They carried the wounded aboard one of the ships with Vesperin and Fayne, and the rest, including Dorenn boarded the other ship.

  Sanmir conjured a stiff wind in the sails of each ship, and the vessels sped across the water and, after a time, through the Pillars of Sanguineous.

  Dorenn was shaking his head. The pain of having Toborne’s essence within him went to his head. Toborne was trying to take over his body.

  “I saw what you did, Toborne,” Morgoran said. “I know you took Dorenn’s body. When we get to Draegodor, I will have you.”

  Dorenn’s mind was cloudy, but he knew he was still himself. “No, Morgoran, I’m not letting Toborne take me.”

  “Dorenn? How can that be?”

  “Drakkius consented to be Toborne. I have not.”

  “That doesn’t matter. Toborne’s essence is strong enough to take you by force.”