The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1

by AJ Martin

  Josephine grasped the three men and lifted them into the air. Her rage burned hotter than the flames of the dragon and her power surged through her.

  “You are protecting yourselves. It is time you learned your new place in the order of things, ambassador!” She growled.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice wavering.

  “I will bring a new kind of peace to this world! A peace not enforced by fear and deception! I am the heir of the Akari and I will fulfil their legacy and purge this world of corruption!”

  “What will you do with us?” one of the two other wizards asked, genuine fear seeping into his voice. He wriggled to see if he could pry himself free, but the bonds were wrapped tightly around them all.

  “I will show you more compassion than your kind intended for me,” she nodded and then her eyes reflected on the sarcophagus. She moved the wizards until they hovered over the casket, and then let the energy holding them in mid - air go. They fell into the casket with a thud. Josephine looked over its carvings. Instinctively she pulled the ring from the chiselled figure’s stone finger. The doors began to creak shut.

  “Princess! Please!” Fenzar stuttered. “We can find another way! We can help each other! O Princess Josephiiiine!” The doors closed with a clunk and Josephine exhaled heavily. She inspected the jewel that Fenzar had channelled his energy into and focussed her attention on it, weaving some energy into it. The sarcophagus began to glow again and shrink until, suspended in mid - air, it was the size of her hand again. She plucked it out of the air with her thumb and forefinger and stared at it, then let go of her power with relief.

  “No more running.”

  The Heat of Battle

  206th Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)

  “Yet another dead end town,” Emary blustered as they wandered out between the trees of the copse they had been passing through for the last hour and emerged back out into open field, where the outline of clustered buildings sat in the near distance. “How many more places can there be to search for this woman?”

  “She can’t have gone much further,” Luccius said. His left cheek and skin under his eye was blotchy, swollen and purple. “Even if Thadius carried her on his back they couldn’t have travelled beyond the next few villages!” He looked down. “I hope so anyway. I don’t know how much more my feet can take. In these rubbish shoes,” he said sarcastically to Emary.

  She shook her head. “Nearly two weeks more we have been roaming with no more leads. And as for that last village…” she sniffed.

  “How was I supposed to know they would take unkindly to strangers in their village?” Matthias sighed and trudged on.

  “Three days they bound me to that chair!” Emary growled.

  “I didn’t see them coming with those sleeping salts,” Matthias shrugged.

  “And we lost the horses we obtained!” she continued.

  “Well, the important thing was that no one got hurt,” Luccius said. Then he held his finger up. “Oh, except for this!” he gestured to his black eye and his eyes narrowed.

  “I apologised for that,” Emary shrugged.

  “Not enough.”

  “If you hadn’t blundered into the room…”

  “I was trying to save you!”

  “I do not need you to save me, rabbit - ears,” Emary retorted. “I’ve killed more men than you have hairs on your head!”

  “Be quiet, you two,” Matthias said, holding a palm up and stopping on the spot. He looked concerned. “Listen.”

  “A noise?” Luccius asked, straining to listen.

  “It’s coming from within the village,” Matthias said gravely.

  “What it is?” Luccius asked.

  “You cannot make it out with those ears?” Emary exclaimed, and tweaked one of his long lobes. He shook her off. “That is the sound of war.”

  “You’re certain?” Luccius asked as Matthias squinted into the distance.

  “I have faced enough armies to recognise the sounds of a battle when I hear them.” As if to prove her point, an explosion sounded from deep within the town and a lick of flame rose off the horizon: black smoke winding its way upward. The crackling of burning timbers was audible as they drew closer.

  “What in the gods?” Luccius exclaimed, startled. “Is it Sikaris?”

  “No,” Matthias said. “It’s sword fighting. The sound of metal on metal and men shouting.”

  As Luccius strained to hear, he began to make out the noises. He nodded. “You’re right. Should we go and see what’s happening?” he asked.

  “We should steer clear,” Emary replied.

  “I would have thought you would look forward to another tussle?” Luccius suggested.

  “This is not our battle,” she sniffed. “What is the point having your head cut off for a cause that is not worthy of your attention?”

  “Josephine could be in there,” Matthias said, turning to them. “We can’t afford not to check. Not when we have come this far.”

  Emary pulled her curved blade from within her coat. “Then it looks like I will be needing this.”

  Chaos rang through the streets as they entered the village over a crumbling bridge. Arrows sailed through the sky further into the clustered buildings, clattering against shields and piercing flesh with a dull thud and the stifled cries of their victims. The clash of swords and spears was interspersed with the cries of women and children. Luccius hafted his spear and Matthias drew his sword hesitantly as they stepped into the streets. The paving slabs were stained with puddles of deep - red blood, filling in the cracks between them. Under a splintered wooden beam, surrounded by bricks, the bloodied body of a tiny baby lay broken among the rubble. Luccius threw a hand up to his mouth and tried not to retch. To the left a woman lay tangled among more debris, her arms twisted and eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky. Matthias knelt down and surveyed the bodies darkly.

  “Who did this?” Luccius asked.

  “There is more fighting up ahead,” Matthias nodded gravely and stood. “Let’s find out.”

  They pressed on, stepping over more rubble and growing closer to the fighting.

  “Matthias, if Josephine is here…” Luccius started.

  “I know,” Matthias replied. “But knowing Thadius he would have taken her somewhere sa-”

  They stopped dead as a furry brown creature in a tiny frock coat bounded around the corner and skidded towards them.

  “What in stilketh is that?” Emary exclaimed.

  Matthias stepped in front of them. “Get back! It’s a-” The creature raised its hands and a smoky trail of white energy surged at them. Matthias deflected it with a shield of power as Emary drew a dagger and threw it at the creature. It pierced the creature’s neck and it fell backwards to the floor, struggling a moment and making rasping noises before falling still. “It was a dark mage,” he finished, looking at Emary distastefully.

  “You’re welcome,” she said, withdrawing her dagger and cleaning the blood off the blade with her coat.

  “Aslemer,” Matthias growled. “They’ve invaded Olindia. What in the gods does the emperor think he is doing?”

  “It looks like he is taking advantage of the situation,” Emary stated. “Wouldn’t you if you were in his shoes?”

  An elderly woman hobbled past them, emerging from further within the village. She had a gash dribbling blood from her tightly - bunned hairline.

  “Get out of here if you value your lives,” she said sadly. “There’s much worse behind me.” She lost her balance and fell against the wall. Matthias came up to her side and placed a hand on her arm.

  “You are hurt,” he said softly.

  “I’ve seen a lot worse today than this. A nick to the head is nothing compared. Just need to catch me breath.”

  “I’m a wizard,” Matthias replied. “I can help you. I can heal the wound.”

  The woman stared at him with a look of surprise and apprehension. “I’d rather take me chances than have magic used on me,
if it’s all the same,” she said, shrugging off Matthias’s hand. “You magicians are what made most of the mess back there. Now be off and get yourselves safe. I know I am.” She pushed off from the wall and struggled onward, before disappearing quickly around a corner and out of sight.

  “What should we do?” Luccius asked. “The woman’s right. If we stay here we’ll be killed Matthias. We can’t fight off an army.”

  “I won’t leave-”

  “Without checking for your princess,” Emary finished for him. “Except if she is here then she is likely dead.”

  Matthias shook his head. “No. She is strong. She wouldn’t… she couldn’t…”

  “Matthias, we have to go,” Luccius said. “Like you said, Thadius would have taken Josephine somewhere safer than here.”

  Matthias paused a moment, his face saddened, and then nodded. “Alright. We’ll go.”

  They turned back and retraced the way they had come.

  “I wonder how far the Aslemerian armies have encroached into Olindia?” Luccius asked. “If they have made it this far then it can’t be good.”

  “I don’t want to think about it. There’s already too much against us without-”

  Matthias was cut short as the piercing, guttural howl of the dragon echoed through the sky. They stopped in their tracks.

  “Oh my gods,” Luccius whispered. “Talk about making a situation worse.”

  “It’s coming,” Matthias nodded. He pulled his staff from his back and gripped it tightly along with his sword.

  “The dragon?” Emary asked. They both nodded. “I see. It sounds large.”

  “Damned enormous,” Luccius added.

  The bellowing drew closer and closer to Tamet and as it did the sound of fighting in the village drew to a standstill. Olindian looked to Aslemerian, the same look of ominous anticipation plain on all their faces. The mages, animal - like in their reactions, began to chirp and babble amongst themselves and scuttled away to hide under debris, defying their commanders. The skies grew quiet.

  “Where are you?” Matthias asked the overcast sky, staring all around him. “You can’t be far.”

  “I wish he was,” Luccius shuddered.

  A rooftop at the west side of the town, a way away from them exploded and tile shards rocketed up into the air. The house below crumbled as Sikaris descended. Troops of both armies, seeing the giant shadow sailing towards them, dropped their weapons and ran. A fireball erupted from the dragon’s mouth and ruptured the ground. The paving slabs melted and the whole town shook as Sikaris soared higher into the sky again.

  “We meet again,” Matthias said and his eyes pulsed blue.

  “Matthias, no offence, but you don’t stand a chance against him!” Luccius exclaimed.

  “Maybe not,” he frowned, “But I have to try. What else can we do?”

  “Run! As fast as we can!” Luccius exclaimed.

  “And he will find us again and again.” Matthias shook his head. “This has to be it. We have to make a stand now.”

  “What about your princess?” Emary asked.

  Matthias looked at her warily. “Maybe she is better off without me.” Then he turned back to look at the skies.

  Luccius lay a hand on Matthias’s shoulder. “Be careful. He isn’t going to take kindly to you lobbing fireballs back at him.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” Matthias said calmly.

  “No, you don’t,” Luccius said. Matthias smiled back at him.

  “Step back, both of you.” He raised his staff and sword above his head. “This could get messy.”

  Sikaris whirled in the air, glided back and forth shooting flame and fireballs downwards. The village exploded around them and black smoke began to fill the streets.

  The clouds above began to warp and swirl around Sikaris, forming three funnels between the sky and the ground below. They snaked around the creature unpredictably, throwing the dragon about the sky like a leaf. Wherever he tried to fly to escape, the funnels followed. Lightning sparks shot between them, catching Sikaris on the wings and tail. He roared angrily.

  Matthias’s face grew paler by the second. On his cheek, a thick black vein bulged on his skin. Fire illuminated his face as a ball of flame struck a house in the street in which they stood, brick and mortar flying around them. Luccius threw Emary aside as a massive chunk of concrete smashed into the cobblestone floor where she had been standing.

  “And you said you don’t need saving?” Luccius scoffed. She looked at him unimpressed.

  The clouds roiled and the dragon wormed his way through the sky, his eyes working mechanically, searching below for his attacker.

  “Come on, give up!” Matthias barked. He looked like a ghost as he continued to work and he began to tremble.

  “It’s not working!” Emary called to him. “Try something else!”

  “If you have any suggestions I would welcome them!” he called back. A jet of flame ignited the village just to the south of where they stood.

  “He breathes fire from his belly! Can’t you snuff that fire out?” she suggested.

  Matthias looked back at her in surprise a moment and then his lips parted and he smiled breathily. He dropped his sword and it clattered to the ground as he grasped his staff with both hands and drew it to his chest, closing his eyes. Around him streams of water began to form, combining until they formed a column of spinning liquid the thickness of an aged oak tree. It grew higher and higher until it stretched above the village, and with a sudden explosion of energy, shot forward towards Sikaris. The torrent struck the creature powerfully, forcing him back in the sky. Again he moved quickly, trying to dodge the water, but it snaked around, following him. Water rained down on the village as it continued its pursuit, dampening some of the flames that had started to choke the streets. The dragon let out an enormous firestorm from his lungs, striking the water jet. Steam hissed as the two opposing forces met in a continuous flow. There seemed no end to the fire that burst from the creature’s lungs. Matthias grunted and cried out as his legs gave in and he released the earth power. The water column collapsed and the remaining liquid fell to earth.

  “You did your best Matthias,” Luccius kneeled and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

  Matthias spat onto the floor. “But it wasn’t good enough, was it?” he growled through gritted teeth. “You were right.”

  “Oh dear,” The ansuwan said hesitantly looking up.

  “The beast has found us,” Emary added, nodding. She took a step backward and her eyes grew wide as Sikaris sailed towards them. Fire burst from his nostrils and mouth, charring the street, growing closer and closer. Emary threw herself into an adjacent alleyway as the flame licked her coat, pulling Luccius with her, and Matthias threw a shell of energy around himself. It wavered with the lack of power he was able to keep hold of in his fatigued state. The dragon swung up again, screaming with rage.

  “Now what?” Emary yelled, pushing herself up from the alleyway. Her coat was singed and smoking.

  “Now I listen to some advice for once. We run. Quickly!” Matthias leaped to his feet. “Go!”

  Heightened Instincts

  206th Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)

  From the hillside Josephine could make out the chaos of the hellish scene that lay in front of her. Flames crackled along the length of the village as the sounds of people wailing and screaming split the noise of the crunch and creaking of burning, crumbling timbers. Smoke billowed into the stormy skies. Her eyes welled with tears at the sound of the people screaming and she watched as the silhouette of Sikaris pivoted in the air and loomed back down on the remaining buildings.

  She tore down the hill towards the village as she recounted her plan again and again to herself, recalling what she had tried to teach herself over the last few weeks. When she finally approached the first broken buildings, she stopped.

  “Show him the light,” she nodded, took a breath and then focussed. The pure energy slid into her grasp and s
he worked it with invisible fingers into the patterns she needed and then cast them out towards the dragon. But they unravelled before they even came close. She tried again, drawing on more power and throwing the threads towards Sikaris, but they collapsed again. “Why isn’t this working?” she said to herself and then tried again. The way the energy was twisted was delicate, and however much she tried to draw, it always fell apart as she extended it away from herself. She swallowed and ran a hand through her hair. Perhaps it needed direct contact. Every other time she had tried this she had been touching the person she was targeting. But how could she touch the dragon? “What do I do now?” Her heart pounded. “You stupid girl!” she cried out angrily, and fell to her knees. “Why did you think you could do this Josephine?” She cradled her head in her hands and jumped as another thundering explosion from within the village shook the ground and she heard the screaming of yet more people. Then she shook her head. “No. These people are depending on you. You are their only hope of stopping this. Self pity will not stop this.” Her sorrow turned to defiance and she forced herself up to her feet. “So I can’t bring the light to the dragon,” she nodded as she talked to herself. “Then I will have to bring the dragon to the light.” She looked up at the sky and the silhouette of Sikaris as he sailed back up before launching another attack on the village. Something deep within her, an instinct perhaps, called out to her as she stared at the dark clouds. She swallowed nervously and drew as much of her power into herself as she could and cast it into their depths. She felt an electric buzz tingle her skin, as if she were connected to them and all the power they beheld. Her head grew fuzzy with it, as if drunk, and she felt euphoric at the sensation. Suddenly she felt as if she had released a dam. More power than she had ever felt before bubbled up to the surface within her, surrounded her, and she felt as if she were soaring within those clouds. The sounds of death and fire fell away from her and she was one with the world. She drank more and more power until her body ached with the sensation. Her thoughts jumbled and she found her consciousness being supplanted by something raw, instinctual, and stronger than she had been before.