“We must get by them,” said Jenar, fingering her cursed swords.
“They seem lost.”
She nodded. “Maybe the Ever Fiend we killed controlled them and they are without a master.”
“For now. This might make it easier to destroy them.”
She smiled at him, the first time she had shown humor in a while. “Let’s find out.”
Chapter 8 – The Curse of Power
Talon and Jenar spent a few moments planning an attack that relied on Nightwish. Talon made use of the riders being in a small valley, taller hills on each side of them. Their poor positioning would’ve surprised him were it not for their general disorientation.
Leaving Jenar where she was, he and Nightwish crouched low and skirted the riders’ position until they were on the opposite side of them. With his years of sneaking around, the Nyborian was nearly as silent as the beast, his supple leather never creaking. Once in position, Talon sent the cat over the hill with a command to be at ease and only counterattack, for he hoped that no battle frenzy would start immediately. As expected, the horsemen turned toward Nightwish, their attention on the cat, and as he had hoped, they’d come alert but not charged the seemingly unthreatening animal. Talon moved back toward Jenar but stopped halfway so that they surrounded their prey on three sides, but neither human showed themselves.
That changed when Jenar quietly rose with twin swords in hand and began advancing on the riders from behind. Nightwish’s presence provided the distraction Jenar needed to approach the knights. Talon watched for the right moment, which came when one of the rear horses whinnied and began to turn as if having sensed the danger from behind. With a battle cry, Talon rose and ran over the hill’s crest into view, plunging toward the nearest rider, who swiveled in his direction. Talon’s rush carried him past Nightwish, to whom he shouted an attack command. The cat leapt two strides forward and bore that rider and horse to the ground with a growl and ripped apart the horse’s throat with claws. Talon threw a dagger at the rider, who it struck in the eye, feeling him.
Jenar slashed the back legs of the horse before her and it crumpled to the ground, one leg burned and the other frosted. Another swing and the rider’s head rolled across the ground.
Talon’s face fell on seeing the leader of the riders lifting the Shadow Horn to its lips. More riders converging on them would surely mean death. Without breaking stride, he desperately hurled Noren’s black sword, which twirled end over end like all those daggers he had spent a decade practicing with. Only training and instinct gave him any hope that the longer weapon would fly as intended. It didn’t, piercing the rider’s leg instead of his heart, but that was enough. Green flames erupted from the sword and soon engulfed both screaming rider and frenzied horse. Both burst into a cloud of ash and fell to the ground, the magical horn and sword landing in the pile.
Only three riders were left, but two bolted for freedom. To Talon’s surprise, Jenar shouted words he didn’t recognize and both steeds stopped so violently that their riders flew over their heads to crash on the ground. He quickly grabbed up Noren’s sword again and raced beside her to the fallen riders, who rose to meet their attack. They’d been Coiryn Riders before Everland and the Ever Fiend had corrupted them, and such horseman specialized in fighting on horseback. Afoot, neither was a match for the pair who now dispatched them in a dozen blows. Behind them, Nightwish had taken down the remaining horse and then clawed apart the last rider, several more dents on his battle armor revealing that it hadn’t been easy.
Only two horses remained alive, if they could be called that. Neither had moved since Jenar’s command and Talon got his first good look at them. Both were jet black, their coats shimmering with unnatural luster, almost beautiful despite their air of wild, evil vibrancy. On a hunch, he cut a strand from the mane of a dead horse and tucked it into his belt. Perhaps the mane of a Shadow Rider’s horse had some value.
“Good for you.” Jenar approved, grinning. “Maybe you’re returning to your old, thieving self. Not everything here is so bad, is it?”
“Yes, it is. How did you stop the horses like that?”
She shrugged. “The words to command them came into my mind. How did you know to control Nightwish?” she challenged playfully, seeming amused by her new skills.
“My father was a knight and the cats are part of the military in Nybor. I learned their commands as a matter of course.”
She patted a sable steed. “Let’s ride these to the gate. They’ll obey me. It’ll be much faster.”
Little surprised the Nyborian anymore and he retrieved the Shadow Horn before approaching a horse, which looked back at him with silvery eyes that left little doubt that it had drunk from the Poison Pond. He gave it the once-over as Jenar casually mounted hers, and then he did the same, half expecting the horse to bolt. It didn’t. He barely had time to grab the reins and stow Noren’s sword before Jenar shouted commands and they sped off, Nightwish loping along beside them.
As they charged over fields and through forests, nothing challenged them. Figures in the distance scattered on seeing them. Any vegetation that might’ve been alive and intent on molesting them did nothing. They leapt over black creeks, charged over hills, and cantered beneath that stormy sky that never unleashed anything but dread on the pair who trod under it. After a short time, they slowed on Jenar’s command and soon saw an Ever Gate on the ground before them, its rectangular outline filled with light. While Talon had lost all track of time, it didn’t surprise him that day had arrived on Llurien.
The pair dismounted before Jenar sent their hideous steeds galloping away. He decided not to ask the creatures’ destination, for all that mattered now was a return to the normalcy of Llurien. One last glance around showed they were alone, and then the pair stepped into the opening, with Nightwish trailing along.
No sooner had they stepped from Everland into the shadows of Viland’s courtyard than Talon felt relief wash over him. A blue sky had never seemed so welcome, the fresh ocean air off the coast of Talendor so invigorating. He took Jenar’s hand and found her turning toward him, an excited light in her eyes. He crushed her lips in a deep kiss, pent-up longing for life and its more pleasurable pursuits overcoming him. But the coldness of that kiss startled him. He disengaged and was about to ask how she felt when a voice stopped him.
“Only the two of you?” asked Viland, sounding surprised, arms folded. “What of Noren?”
“Dead,” answered Talon sadly, “or worse. The Ever Fiend has him.”
The wizard’s eyebrows shot up. “You met the Ever Fiend?” With a word of magic and swing of his fist, he made the Ever Gate behind them close, as if he were afraid something—or someone—might come through. Then he gestured for them to follow into the courtyard and back up into his tower and the living quarters therein. Along the way, Talon and Jenar related what had occurred, leaving out certain parts, like that Jenar had consumed the silver elixir. When Viland extended one greedy hand for the elixir vials, Talon hesitated.
“What do you do with this? I’ve seen it destroy men.”
The wizard nodded. “Then you know that I was right in telling you not to touch it. Fear not, Nyborian. I merely use it in my spells. I certainly don’t consume it or force others to do the same. As you say, it is death, or worse. A drop here or there in spells makes them stronger. Whether the spell is for good or evil makes no difference, so the elixir itself is not your cause for concern, but the character of the wizard.”
Talon stared him in the eyes. “Now you know why I ask.”
A chuckle escaped Viland. “I do enjoy a good repartee. I’d not expect such from you were it not for your upbringing. Years as a squire in the courts of Nybor has given you more sophistication than most would expect. It’s a shame about your parents. You seem to have the makings of a fine knight. I inquired about you in your absence, you see. It is not too late for you, Stormbringer, given your honor.” Seeing Talon frown, he added, “Hide it all you will. It lives inside yo
u still.”
“A poet,” remarked Jenar with a snicker, one arm wrapped around Talon’s waist. She jingled the sash holding the vials on his torso and looked at Viland suggestively. “Are you sure you don’t want a sip? It’s not all bad.”
Neither man shared her amusement, the wizard extending a black hand once more. “Those are mine by right, Nyborian.”
Talon sighed and handed them over. He hadn’t expected the wizard’s comments about honor, especially those seeming to praise him for it. Maybe the rumors about the man were unfounded. Nothing he had witnessed personally seemed nefarious, other than the basic mission, and by contrast to the beings inside Everland, Viland was downright cordial, though Talon was no stranger to two-faced people. Still, there was nothing to be done for it and he had to just hope nothing evil came of his delivery.
When the wizard suggested that he return to the Poison Pond later for more elixir, Talon glared so forcefully that the wizard took a step back and dropped the subject before smiling as if to apologize.
The Nyborian made no mention of the other items he had collected along the way, though Viland noticed the sorelian sword at his hip, making an inquiry about acquiring it only to be rebuffed. Talon intended to find a way to honor Noren, who had sacrificed himself for their lives, in defiance of everything Talon had ever heard about the sorelia. He would never look at another quite the same. Perhaps some good remained in those corrupted members of the noble karelian species.
Night began to fall outside and Viland offered them a pair of rooms, but Jenar made it clear she intended to celebrate life with Talon. They retired to his spacious suite overlooking the courtyard and that silent corner below where a portal to a dread world lurked unseen. Nightwish, who now showed all signs of having allegiance to a grateful Talon, lay silently at the foot of the bed while Jenar stoked a large fire, admitting she felt cold and wanting Talon to warm her with his body.
She insisted on pulling curtains around the four-post bed as if to shield herself from the light, acting coy about her shyness when teased about it. Only then did she undress, and in the black shadows, her skin seemed only as dark as his. The first touch of her cold skin no longer surprised him and he vowed to warm her up the old fashioned way. She otherwise seemed more alive than any woman he had been with in his short years, almost as if possessed. The drink flowed easily before and after their passionate tryst. He fell into a deep sleep with her nude body, still chill to the touch, pressed against his flesh.
He awoke sometime later, a growl from Nightwish disturbing him even as he realized the cat had climbed onto the bed, the ponderous weight shifting the mattress, the bed frame creaking. His eyes opened to find the black and green mynx about to lick his face. He pushed the beast aside and sat up, a glance revealing that they were alone. Where had the woman gone? To stoke the fire, which had died down? A moment later, the cat’s ears pointed toward the window overlooking the courtyard. Talon caught the faint sound of words, the inflection telling him that magic was afoot. He rose, naked, and grabbed Noren’s sword instead of his from the bedside, and gazed down to the ground.
In the courtyard’s corner, the Ever Gate blazed with shimmering light. Before it, Viland stood with arms falling to his sides, his spell complete. Beside him, a figure with black skin and wild long hair stood with a dagger at the wizard’s back.
“Viland!” Talon called, wondering what else to do from here. He had no bow to take out the creature beside the man.
The wizard turned his dark face up, an expression of horror on it. Then the figure beside him looked up, too, and Talon gasped. Something had transformed Jenar into a being not unlike those they’d seen in Everland, but she bore more resemblance to one in particular than any other. She smiled obscenely at him, silver light shining from her eyes while she pressed one hand to her belly.
“You’re to be a father, Talon!” Jenar called, her voice deep and hollow. “I feel him growing already. No telling what powers this one will have!”
He cried out in shock, desperate to save Jenar but powerless to stop her from carrying out her actions. Had the silver elixir been turning her into this all along? Had she known? Was everything she had done since drinking it just a ruse to deliver them one by one to the Ever Fiend? He didn’t want to believe it, that this vivacious woman he had just shared a bed with had been a predator, possibly since drinking from the Poison Pond. Compassion made his heart wrench. If only he had a long bow, he could’ve destroyed her now rather than let her become some minion of the Fiend in Everland, possibly forever.
And a baby. He was to be a father of some unholy creature? It couldn’t be true. And yet somehow he sensed it was. How was he to walk this Llurien knowing some abomination he had wrought would wander those Ever Pathways, possibly coming to Llurien from time to time to do who knows what to the living? Something must be done.
Jenar turned toward the Ever Gate and jabbed the blade in Viland’s back, urging him forward. Talon turned and dashed from the room in all his glory, leaping down the steps with Nightwish close behind. On reaching the courtyard, he felt no surprise that both Jenar and Viland were gone, but the Ever Gate remained open and he strode up to it and peered through. Not twenty yards beyond, Jenar delivered the wizard to the waiting Ever Fiend, who grasped a vial of shining liquid and forced it to Viland’s lips as he arched the man backward, the silver elixir emptying down his throat. Viland fell to the ground, clutching at his neck and convulsing.
Jenar paid him no mind as the Fiend draped a hooded robe around her, and she bowed her head. Then she raised her chin and turned toward the Nyborian. A brief flash of silver eyes came from within the dark recesses of the hood. She beckoned and the Shadow Riders came at her call, black steeds moving in tight formation once more. Only then did Talon remember the Shadow Horn, his eyes darting to the bedroom above. Jenar made no indication that she had taken it as she mounted one horse.
Silently, Viland stopped writhing and rose to his feet before the Ever Fiend draped a cowled robe around him. He climbed atop another nightmare horse and Talon wondered if he was the only person to see three Ever Fiends at the same time. That he could’ve been one chilled him, for it seemed clear that anyone with magic talent became a Fiend if they had consumed the silver elixir.
The horses wheeled as one and rode away. The master Fiend turned toward the gate and Talon beyond. It began to glide forward. Talon raised the black sword in his hand fearing it would not be enough for the Ever Fiend. The Ever Gate might be another matter.
He slashed at its edge and saw the blade ignite with green flames as it contacted the seemingly insubstantial portal. The Ever Fiend stopped as black flame sprang from the portal frame and the Nyborian took his cue, swinging with all his might at every edge that shimmered before him. Time after time the blade cut into the gate. Soon a wall of black flame engulfed it from all sides as man and mynx backed away from the searing heat. As the gate hissed, popped, and crackled into oblivion, the Ever Fiend’s final words came through it and sent a chill down his spine.
“I will find you, Stormbringer.”
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Jean Hall, Clayton Clement, and Christopher Candice for their invaluable support.
Edited by Niyati Joshi and JJ Henke.
Cover design and maps by Randy Ellefson.
Glossary
For more information on the world of Llurien, including maps and pronunciation audio files, please visit the official site, http://www.llurien.com.
Antaria: a continent in the northern hemisphere of Llurien, usually depicted on the left/west of world maps.
Asyander: a deciduous tree growing 30-150 feet tall, used for syrup and bows.
Chaos weapons: any magical weapon left inside Everland can become corrupted so that it’s powers are unpredictable.
Coiryn: the god of courage, honor, integrity, pride, dignity, protection, victory, and heroism. He’s the autumn/earth god of the green sphere and one of the creators of karelia. He’s the p
atron of warriors and rules the first month of autumn in the Court of Gods.
Coiryn Riders: named for the god of courage, these expert horsemen are a major unit of defense for almost all cities and major towns.
Daekais: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien but now a race of the kais species. Created by the gods of the orange sphere: deception, greed, jealousy, and fear. Their teeth and claws are poisonous. See “kais” and “Deal of the Gods” entries.
Divine Covenant: an agreement between the gods to allow ghosts to happen, to create morkais from a male and female daekais, to give magic to the species, to grant healing powers if species create religions, and give the karelia supernatural talents to resolve matters of undead and roaming spirits.
E’Kainum: the afterlife created by the gods of the orange sphere, reserved for the evilest, whose souls are shredded into oblivion without hope of recovery.
Ever Earth: soil found in Everland and which causes anything planted in it to produce an unusual and unpredictable yield, either in volume or properties.
Ever Fiend: the Ever Fiend is rumored to rule Everland and use Ever Gates to appear on Llurien to terrorize people.
Ever Gates: portals from Llurien to Everland. They are naturally occurring but hard to detect without the Reveal Ever Gate spell. Karelia can sense them. From within Everland, they are always open, but from Llurien, a spell must be used to open one.
The Ever Fiend (Talon Stormbringer Book 1) Page 8
