Epic Fantasy Adventure: The Angel's Blessing: Holy Paladin's Quest: Book 1 (Sword and Sorcery Epic Fantasy Adventure Book With Dragons and Magic)

by Hart, Blaine

  The Angel of Glory then made a holy sign above our heads, and I felt, and then breathed in a mist of sacred waters.

  “Vade in pace,” she said reverently. “Revertar in pace. Et pacis erit vobiscum.”

  With the last of her words a dark hole appeared in the Angel’s pedestal. Kell wrapped an arm around me and I wrapped mine around him, and then it was as Gavial had said; together we became like an angel and through the divine portal we flew, the plaintive cries of the Annas echoing behind.

  The divine magic propelled us. I felt the earth fall from my feet and it was as if I were looking through a dark glass. I saw the sea far below rolling and churning. I clutched my master while small islands and vast lands passed beneath our feet.

  “Look at that,” Kell laughed like a giddy school boy. “Just look at that! We’re flying Longo. We’re flying faster than falcons or dragons, and we’re flying on the Angel’s magic.”

  “I hope,” I said, “that her magic has a long reach. Look.”

  Ahead of us we saw a land that was not an island. It stretched before our sight from horizon to horizon. It was a bright sandy land and I saw no trees or shrubs or grass. There was only a vast expanse of windswept desert.

  “Galth,” Kell said. “Once a proud and mighty realm, it’s power stretched to the corners of the globe.”

  “Master,” I mentioned. “A globe has no corners.”

  “Longo,” he replied. “You have spent too much time with the Annas.”

  “As if I had a choice?”

  “Point taken.”

  “But tell me, tell me of Galth.”

  “The story is long,” he said.

  Sand dunes drifted beneath us. Every now and again I saw blackened and charred destruction.

  “It is told,” my master said, “that the Galth found a harmony between the magic of the divine, the magic of men and the magic of the darkness. They say that the Galth tamed dragons and would entertain Angels and Mystics, Mages and Witches all at the same feasting tables.”

  “That would have been a feat,” I said.

  Our journey slowed. Beneath us was nothing but shifting sands. Ahead of us I saw the scant outline of a grand ruin.

  “It was,” Kell said. “But the Galth became absorbed in the pride of their achievements. They thought that they could do anything, and they set their sights on the Gods themselves. And so began the Dragon Wars.”

  “But that’s a myth,” I said chuckling. “Like Methyus stealing fire or Dora lost in the world with her box of poisons. They make lovely poetry but this is the modern world.”

  “No,” Kell said. “Below us is the mythic world, and you are about to plant your feet in it.”

  The ground rushed to meet us. I screamed as my feet sank to my ankles in sand. I stumbled, tumbled and fell. I rolled head over heels until the soft stuff stopped me. I looked up. Kell was atop the sand dune. He held his arms out to the sky, still clutching his broken Warhammer.

  “Akuste me Gavial,” he cried in a loud voice.

  But only the wind replied, batting him with sand. He smiled. Then he looked down at me.

  “Get up,” he said.

  I found my feet. I climbed the dune and there we stared out across the expanse. There were the ruins in the distance, a dark splot against the sand.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Ios Mosley,” Kell said, “the place where dragon bones lie aplenty. It was once a strong city, and it was a place of a great battle. That is where one would look to assemble a bone dragon, and that is where Visalth had to of been made.”

  “But master,” I said. “If the White Rook Byrinius spoke true, the battle lies far away in the Realm of the Nine.”

  “I know. But here is where the Angel of Glory sent us. And so here is where we will meet Visalth.”

  “But this is crazy,” I cried. “We have no food. We have no water. The ruins ahead look to be easily a day’s march and I see no wells in between. Nor do I see any dragons. Is Visalth going to suddenly appear? And would the Angel have us do battle with a bone dragon in the middle of a desert?”

  “I don’t know,” Kell said. “Have faith.”

  As he spoke, the wind stirred and parted the sands before us. The way before them was a clear line to the ruined city.

  “And faith will be granted,” I said repeating the old charm. “I just wish that it came in the form of food and water.”

  And so we began our trudge through the desert to the distant ruined city. Long we marched. We rested once, but there was no relief from the heat glaring down from above and pulsing up from below. All the while I wondered why the Angel could not have set us down closer. The heat was infernal. There was no shade to be found and even the dunes cast no shadow. It was as if the sun had stopped in the sky. In time even my master faltered. I used my sword as a crutch and I saw Kell use the broken Warhammer as a staff.

  “Master,” I gasped as we trudged. “You have magic. Can you not pray some spell?”

  “I can create fire,” he said plodding on, “if I have something to burn. I can raise water, if water is near. I need a thing to charm a thing.”

  “Then look, master!”

  In the delve between two dunes we saw a small dot of red. We scrambled down, the sand shifting under my shirt. Kell grabbed me to a halt as the sands flowed before us and threatened to engulf the small flower. We crept close until Kell could hold the delicate thing. And then he chanted in words that I did not know. But it was as if the flower knew his words. It shuddered between his hands and then it began to swell. Before my eyes the little red flower grew and matured. It was a tall spindly thing studded with thorns. When it stood to our knees it seemed to me that the plant was a poor source of food. But Kell spoke a small charm, and then with his dagger he sliced away the thorns at the base, grabbed the stem and pulled. The sand gave up a long gourd-like root. Kell smiled. He sliced a handful from the top and cut it in half, giving me a piece. Biting into the fleshy pulp I was suddenly delighted by a juicy mash that was at once sweet, refreshing and satisfying. We both ate greedily.

  Then the wind calmed. Kell dashed to the top of the dune and I followed. But even as I reached the crest my master grabbed and dragged me to the ground. He made a motion for silence and pointed. Away in the distance above the shimmering sands I saw a speck in the sky.

  “Quickly,” he said. “Hide.”

  We covered ourselves in sand as the dot came nearer, and as it came nearer it seemed to form into a bird. But a moment later I saw that it was no bird. The coarse dark bones seemed to absorb the sunlight. Its long neck and skull were craned and pointed to the ruined city. Its hind legs were tucked up against the hollow ribs and its fore-limbs hugged the bony breastplate as its massive wings swept aloft. Those long wings with stretching bird-like fingers near enveloped the sky above us, but with no flesh or covering to gather the air I wondered that it could fly at all. But I knew that the beast was undead and whatever magic gave it shape and unearthly life could also give it flight. I thought if the mindless creature flapped its wings simply out of memory or habit.

  But the eeriest part was the silence. It flew as swift and quiet as an owl at night. And while I thought that I might have heard the wind whistle through its bones as the creature flew directly over us, the thing was silent as a ghost. For a moment my heart stopped as I looked up and through the flying skeleton. But the beast seemed intent on its goal and soared right past us, taking no heed of two cowering humans. I watched as it disappeared into the dark of the ruins.

  “It didn’t see us,” I said almost in awe. “It didn’t even smell us. I’ve heard that a dragon can smell the blood of a human from leagues off.”

  “A dragon can,” Kell said. “But a bone dragon cannot. Nor can it hear. It has no organs for such. It sees, but only things that move.”

  “You mean . . . you mean that if I stood still in front of the bone-dragon it couldn’t see me?”

  “Yes. Though how you would get to stand in front
of him I don’t know.”

  “Why does it come to this forsaken place?” I asked.

  “That I cannot answer,” Kell said, standing and dusting the sand from him. “Perhaps this is where he was created and maybe he needs an extra part. Perhaps some magic draws him. We may or may not find out. But here he is and here we are.”

  “But master? How will you join battle, let alone slay the thing? Ashrune is not whole.”

  “Gavial would not send us on a task that had no hope. Come. Our way now cannot be so straight. We must hide between the dunes. Its eyes may be dead but they can see far.”

  Our way was slow, but fortified by the sacred root Kell had found, our way was steady. I longed for the cool and shadow of the night. But it seemed that in all of the time we worked our way the sun hadn’t moved.

  “There will be no sunset here,” Kell said with a chuckle. Galth is cursed. There aren’t even shadows.”

  His words stopped me. I looked down and gave a small cry. Neither of us cast a shadow. I held out my arm, but the sand beneath just blazed with brilliance. What curse could this be? A land with no sunset and no shadows? I quickly caught up with my master.

  As we neared the ruined city it began to take shape. It was towering. The ancient architects must have been wizards. Buildings sprang up from tall slender bases and then grew and spread to heights that were dizzying. They sprawled above and there were a series of arches and bridges connecting and supporting them. Everywhere there were spires, tall towers and minarets with graceful collars. As I looked in awe, it seemed to me as though the people who once lived here didn’t want to touch the earth. They seemed to want to rise above it.

  But the lofty elegance was a shell of its old glory. The city seemed to have been ruined from above and below. Many of the pedestals I saw had gaping holes or huge chunks torn from them as if they had been beset by explosions. The grand structures fared no better, huge swaths of brick or concrete were gone, leaving the iron support work baking in the sun like dark skeletons. Barely a spire above was untouched by whatever had ruined the place, and I saw one peaked minaret had fallen to the ground, its point dug deep into the sand.

  “That one looks promising,” Kell said pointing up to one tower.

  It stood on the edge of the city and I thought it to be a look-out point. There was a rough battlement atop but most of it was damaged. We made our way to the closest entrance that looked fairly sound.

  Inside I praised the dark. There was no sunlight here and that was a small blessing. Kell chanted a little and a small glowing light sprang into being above our heads. We marveled at the intricate and ornate stone-work, for even here at a humble entrance the bricks and stone were laid in elaborate patterns that dazzled with both design and faded colors. If what we saw was the norm in this airy city, it must have taken a million slaves a thousand years to lovingly complete.

  We found a winding staircase. Kell’s light revealed more and more detailed patterns in the building, and even the long dead torch sconces sprouted out of the round walls as if they had grown from living rock. We reached a large room that looked to be purposefully open to the sun. It must once have been a place of leisure, for in the middle was a deep, tiered basin made from colorful polished marble. Weird animal and fish heads leaned down into the basin and I thought that it may of been a pool of sorts. Now it was nothing. Desert dust coated everywhere. Above, an array of long dead, near fossilized plants hung dry, brown and limp. The only sign of any humanity was a jeweled, silver goblet lying on its side on the floor beside the pool.

  “Your first spoil,” Kell said smiling and tossed the precious thing to me. “Don’t get greedy.”

  From the open room we saw the watch-tower to our right. To get there we had to cross an archway connecting two structures. I had to steel myself from looking down. I hadn’t realized how high we had climbed. The arch seemed solid enough, but much of the balusters on either side were broken or simply gone. My head spun.

  At the tower we climbed yet more stairs. The Angel’s blessing must have indeed been strong, for despite the long trek through the desert and the many stairs in this tower, I felt little fatigue. Then we saw light above and were soon standing at the top. To one side we saw nothing but the shadowless, shifting sands. But on the other side we gazed upon a field of destruction.

  As far as my eyes could see, the magnificent city was like one enormous palace, and that palace was in ruins. No building had been spared. Metal frameworks twisted like a myriad of gnarled fingers. Gaping holes were everywhere and huge chunks of rock and stone littered the earth. The desert air shimmered all about and it sometimes looked as if the bones were swaying and waving. The city was lain out in a circle, its flying arches and walkways leading to the center where everything seemed to focus on a grand towering statue, one arm raised to the heavens, a broken sword in hand, and the other arm clutching it’s heart. The scene of magnificent destruction and desolation was hypnotic.

  “Don’t move,” Kell said, his hand like an iron grip on my neck.

  I peered through the haze, the shimmering, shifting wreckage that was rippling. I then saw that two points of iron colored bones near the statue were indeed moving. They were lifting and unfolding like the huge wings of a skeletal bat. The head rose up and there, in the heart of the splendid destruction, was Visalth.

  Chapter 6 Visalth

  “Scrit,” Kell breathed.

  The beast launched. With a powerful spring from its hind legs and two beats of its wings it had crossed half the distance to them. I felt the blood drain from my face as that skeletal grin loomed. It’s jaws opened wide but no roar came out. In a few seconds it was on us, but a second too late as Kell leapt, and clutching me by the scruff of my neck, we were airborne. The watch-post exploded under the giant jaws and we sailed through the air between the bony wings. I screamed as we arced and fell, but to my amazement Kell and I landed on the ground simply as if we had jumped off a bed.

  “Master?” I cried astonished.

  Even Kell looked amazed.

  “I just . . .” he began. “It was impulse. I just jumped and . . . scrit!”

  Bones rushed overhead and that long, sinewy tail swiped a hunk off a nearby building. Rock and dead foliage tumbled about us. Visalth wheeled in the air and turned towards us. Kell grabbed my hand and we again flew up in an arc away from destruction. I heard stones shatter and tumble behind us as the bone dragon tried to catch us. We landed on a tall building spire and Kell leapt again and again throughout the city, always aiming for the largest buildings to jump off of. But the dragon always had us in his sight and though we managed to dodge his wrath time and again, it was clear that the cat-and-mouse game might easily go the way of the cat if this kept up much longer.

  “This won’t do,” Kell said.

  We had landed in the open wreckage of an empty room. Visalth circled and took a bead on us. It turned to gain speed and darted toward us, its scorpion tail whistling through the air behind it. Again we jumped, but this time through a gaping hole in the side of the room and down to the sands below.

  “Run!” he cried as rocks began to rain.

  I saw my master’s thinking. We dashed away, under arches and out of sight. We ran through the twisting alleys of debris, and then we ran some more. Visalth roamed above and whenever he came close to view we would go under a rock or wall and freeze. We soon found a tumbled dome that provided great security and we hid. Visalth searched, we knew. Even though we couldn’t see him, I could distinctly sense his foul presence every time he got close. Every now and again we could hear stone shattering and falling, but it was clear that he had lost us after an hour of hiding or so.

  “I guess,” I said as we scanned the empty sky. “I guess he knows that we’re here.”

  “Ya think?” Kell asked dryly.

  Just then we heard the sound of a distant tower falling.

  “I wonder,” I said. “If it might not just try and destroy the city block by block to get us.”

/>   “The thing wouldn’t have such logic,” Kell said. “Its destruction is wanton frustration.”

  “Do you suppose it will tire?”

  “It might,” Kell said with a shrug. “But I think it’s more likely that it will soon return to whatever it wants here. Remember that it doesn’t have much of a brain, but it does have a purpose. If we can find what that is we might find a way to destroy it.”

  “It was huddled by that statue,” I said. “Whatever it wants must be there. I say that we wait until dark and then – oh, right there is no dark here.”

  “I say that we wait until it loses interest. Then we do some experimenting.” Said Kell

  “Experimenting?” I asked.

  “Gavial’s blessing. It’s the key to our success I have no doubt.” Kell said with a hint of awe in his voice.

  “I don’t—“

  “Hush!” Kell warned.

  Through the single window they could see the Bone Dragon soaring above. Its neck was craning this way and that, those death-like eyes searching. Just the sight of it was enough to chill my heart. I had not dreamed a thing could be so massive. And yet, as I gazed up at the magnificent collection of undead bones, I could not see how it could be slain. It had no flesh to tear. It had no heart to bleed. One might crush its skull. But my master’s war-hammer was a poor shadow of itself, and even if one might get near enough to land a blow that scorpion tail or those massive jaws would make short work of anyone foolish enough to try.

  The bone tail slid from our view and my heart began to beat again. We waited a while but heard no more destruction in the creature’s wake. We both sighed in relief. Kell lopped off another hunk of the magic root and we ate and rested for a bit.

  Kell then stood up and leapt to a ledge high on the inside of the dome structure. He called to me from high above. He wanted me to try and do the same. At first I thought that he was crazy, but he urged me on and so with a running start I jumped – and I amazed us both. I easily soared almost halfway to the place where he stood laughing. I was flabbergasted, for not only had I bounded as graceful as a gazelle but I also landed as sure footed as any mountain goat.