Wrath of the Dragon Czar: Aegis of Merlin Book 5

by James E. Wisher

  General Ivan was his current problem.

  When the general fell silent Roman asked, “So how did the vampires get into the fort to disable the wards?”

  “They sent an ordinary human. He snuck in and used some sort of item to destroy them.”

  “A single man snuck past the many guards you placed on the pillar? The one thing Nosorova warned you absolutely had to be protected at all costs.”

  “I set only a single guard.” Ivan flinched as though expecting Roman to strike. And well he might. “How could I know the vampires had human servants capable of such a feat?”

  “You should have assumed it!” Roman roared and surged to his feet. “You should have posted enough guards that a squad of humans wouldn’t have been able to reach the pillar.”

  “Majesty I—”

  Roman’s clawed hand wrapping around his throat strangled off Ivan’s excuse. It took no effort for him to lift the useless human off the ground.

  “You’ve failed me, General.” Roman gathered power in his chest. “I don’t intend to give you the chance to do so again.”

  Roman exhaled an icy mist that enveloped Ivan. When it cleared the general had been frozen solid. Roman slammed his frozen body to the floor sending pieces of icy flesh flying everywhere.

  If he wanted this vampire matter solved, he’d have to do it himself. But how? For all his personal power and the might of his army, at night they were no match for the undead. He needed an edge. Something that would allow him to hold the monsters at bay during the night.

  “Damned vampires!” Roman roared at the ceiling setting one of the golden chandeliers trembling.

  “Majesty.”

  Roman spun to see who dared to speak. The masked witch, Lady Wolf, had stepped forward. The woman had courage, he’d grant her that. He’d also grant her a swift death if he didn’t like what she said.

  “Speak.”

  “I’ve been considering your vampire problem and I believe I have a solution. The Society has in its possession an artifact left behind by the elves. The device is called the Solar Orb. If you feed light magic energy into it, the orb will produce an energy field that mimics sunlight.”

  “It will kill the undead?” If the artifact did what she said it would indeed solve his problem. With that artifact protecting his army, he could slaughter the vampires wherever they hid.

  “Alas, no.”

  He tensed, ready to rip her head off, mask and all, for wasting his time.

  “It isn’t true sunlight, however, it will induce the paralysis that strikes them when the sun is out. It would be a simple matter for a strong man with a silver sword to take the head of an immobile enemy.”

  Roman relaxed. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but the woman had a point. A helpless vampire was an easy kill even for his weakest soldier.

  “And you’d be willing to provide this artifact?”

  “It is one of the more valuable items in our collection. That said, I believe an exchange might be possible. You have some elf artifacts, correct?”

  Roman saw it clearly now. Good relations she claimed. Ha! The Society wanted something from his collection, it was as simple as that. She’d been building up to this moment since he first laid eyes on her. The discovery made him feel oddly better. Now that he understood her motivation, Roman trusted the woman more.

  “I assume you had something in mind?”

  “In point of fact I did.”

  “I’ll bet.” Roman dismissed his advisors with a wave. “Let’s take a walk and see what we can come up with.”

  A giddy Lady Wolf left the czar’s trophy room and nearly leapt for joy. He’d agreed to trade her the artifact fragment without even batting an eye. In fact, the czar had seemed surprised by her choice. For all his power the fool clearly had no idea what most of his collection did. They were status symbols to him, pretty trinkets he could look at and think how powerful he was. Such a waste. She’d noticed several items in her brief moment of study that would increase her personal power by an order of magnitude.

  She sighed and headed for her chamber. This was neither the time nor place to be considering herself, not when they’d finally made a good step toward freeing Morgana. If Lady Tiger was right about the other half of the artifact, they might be able to claim it and complete their mission this year. And then the world would tremble before the might of their mistress.

  Smiling behind her mask, Lady Wolf slipped into her room and activated her wards. Lady Dragon would be so pleased. She went straight to the mirror and activated the communication spell. The wait seemed interminable, but it probably lasted only a minute or two.

  When Lady Dragon appeared she said, “You have news?”

  “Indeed. I’ve arranged a trade for the item we seek. He’ll give it to us in exchange for the Solar Orb.”

  “A steep price, but well worth it. Excellent job, Lady Wolf. When will you be making the trade?”

  “The czar is eager to begin his war against the vampires. He will trade as soon as you can send the orb to me.”

  “Shall we meet in the realm of wind in an hour?” Lady Dragon asked.

  “That would be perfect. I’ll be there.”

  The mirror went blank. Lady Wolf needed to get out of the palace so she could open a portal. She wasn’t under house arrest or anything, but the witches kept an eye on her. She felt them watching every moment she was out of her suite.

  Well, if anyone asked she’d tell them the truth. She was running an errand for their precious master.

  Outside, the hall was empty and as she made her way to the nearest exit she encountered no witches or others beyond a young serving girl overloaded with clean towels. Perhaps the czar had explained the situation to his people, so they were staying out of her way.

  She didn’t know and didn’t care. Once she made the exchange, she’d leave this wretched land and return to civilization. When she reached one of the less used doors, she pushed it opened and stepped outside.

  The gray, threatening sky did nothing to diminish her mood. She called the wind portal spell to mind. As a water-aligned wizard it didn’t come naturally to her, but water and wind got along well enough that she shouldn’t encounter any dangers.

  Lady Wolf would have preferred to meet in the realm of water, where her powers were strongest, but Lady Dragon was fire aligned and not at all welcome in the realm of water. Besides, though they were allies, the members of the Society always used a neutral element if they had to meet outside the human realm. Not that anyone expected a betrayal, but given their naturally ambitious nature why risk it?

  A gust of wind sent her hair swirling around her as she stepped through the portal. The realm of wind held a few crystal islands, but by and large remained empty of solid surfaces. All the spirits here knew how to fly after all. Lady Wolf relaxed and opened her mind. When Lady Dragon entered the realm she’d sense it at once and they could meet halfway.

  Aside from a few curious pixies, nothing bothered her. When she sensed Lady Dragon she willed herself in that direction. In the spirit realms time had little meaning and before she knew it Lady Wolf floated in front of her superior.

  Lady Dragon held a clear crystal orb the size of her fist. Multifaceted and gleaming, the Solar Orb seemed to glow with its own inner light.

  “Congratulations, Lady Wolf. I never would have imagined you completing your mission this quickly.”

  Lady Wolf bowed her head, humbly accepting the rare compliment. More because that’s what Lady Dragon expected than because she felt especially humble. “Circumstances fell in my favor. I hope to make the exchange and return to headquarters by the end of the day.”

  “Good, we have a great deal of work to do in preparation for freeing Morgana.”

  “How goes Lady Tiger’s search for the other half of the artifact?”

  “She’s found it, but hasn’t provided me with any more details. That may change in the near future, time will tell.” Lady Dragon held out the orb.

 
; “I’ll take that, thank you.”

  A woman in white emerged from the winds. How did one of the witches follow her without her noticing?

  A second and third witch joined her, surrounding Lady Wolf and Lady Dragon. It seemed the czar preferred to take what he wanted by force.

  The Scepter of Morgana appeared in Lady Dragon’s hand while the orb vanished. “You dare challenge the Supreme Hierarch of the Le Fay Society?”

  Lady Wolf hesitated. If the czar wanted to take the orb by force, he would have waited until she arrived to trade, then overwhelmed her. Sending three witches out here made no sense.

  “The czar didn’t send you, did he?” Lady Wolf asked.

  “Why should His Majesty have to trade with the likes of you when we can simply take the artifact?” the lead witch said, not really answering her question.

  “Enough conversation.” Lady Dragon thrust the scepter at the nearest witch and spoke a single harsh syllable in the language of fire. A crimson lance shot out and pierced the woman through the chest. She burst into flames and her ashes were scattered by the screaming winds.

  The enemy leader chanted and hurled blades of compressed wind.

  Lady Wolf countered in Infernal. “Break!”

  The dark magic sphere scattered the attack, rendering it harmless.

  A second witch screamed as blue-white flames engulfed her. Lady Dragon certainly wasn’t taking it easy on their opponents. As expected from the Supreme Hierarch of the Society. She never took it easy on anyone.

  When only the leader remained Lady Dragon gestured with her scepter, trapping the woman in a cage of flame. The witch attempted to cut through the cage with a gust of wind, but Lady Dragon twisted the spell and used the energy to make the flames burn hotter.

  They flew up to face the trapped witch. She wasn’t much more than a girl.

  “Anastasia sent you, did she not?” Lady Wolf asked.

  “No one sent us,” the sweat-plastered girl said. “We heard you talking to the czar and thought to earn his favor by seizing the artifact ourselves.”

  “Who is Anastasia?” Lady Dragon asked.

  “The White Witches’ leader. I don’t think she appreciates that I’ve gained the czar’s good will. She may not have sent these fools directly, but I sense her hand in it.”

  “Does this affect our deal?”

  “No, the czar wants the orb. I doubt he has any idea what these three did nor will he care.”

  “Good.” Lady Dragon snapped her fingers and the cage contracted, cutting the girl into square chunks. “You’d best get back.”

  Lady Dragon put her scepter away and recalled the orb. She handed it over, nodded and flew back the way she’d come.

  Lady Wolf hefted the orb. It weighed more than she’d expected for something so small. That was the thing about elf artifacts, they seldom ended up being what you expected.

  Conryu and Yarik moved a little ways away from the girls. He placed a finger on Yarik’s chest and cast, “Cloak of Darkness.” The spell covered him in a protective shell of dark magic so he wouldn’t suffer too much harm from his trip through Hell.

  Yarik looked down at himself. “What have you done to me?”

  “It’s a simple protective spell. Where we’re going, it isn’t safe to travel without taking precautions. Plus, if you think about betraying me I can snuff your life out in an instant.”

  “I have no intention of betraying you now. What would I gain?”

  “Not a thing.” Conryu offered his best evil smile. “Now, let’s get going. Reveal the way through infinite darkness. Open the path. Hell Portal!”

  The black portal disk appeared and Yarik took a step back. Conryu waved to Anya and Kai, grabbed Yarik by the collar, and shoved him through. They’d barely entered the endless darkness of Hell when Cerberus came bounding up, one head growling and eyeing Yarik.

  The security agent scrambled to get away, but Conryu held on tight. “Relax, Cerberus is going to guide us to your wife. I need you to focus on her. Picture Iliana and your home, every detail you can. Hold the image firmly in your mind. Can you do that?”

  Yarik closed his eyes and sighed. “I see it every time I stop to think.”

  Conryu laid a hand on Cerberus’s chest and focused on extending his link with the demon dog to Yarik. He didn’t actually know if what he wanted to do was possible, but by now he’d come to realize that if you wanted something bad enough, the magic would often find a way to make it happen, though you might end up paying a price.

  “Do you see her, boy? We need to find that lady. She’s in trouble and we’re going to help her. Can you find her for me?”

  Cerberus panted and looked left and right. After half a minute the demon dog gave out a triple bark.

  “Good boy.” Conryu willed himself up onto Cerberus’s back and dragged Yarik along with him. The Imperial agent shook from head to toe. Conryu didn’t know if it was from fear or if it was an effect of being in Hell. Either way they needed to hurry. “He’s got the scent now. Hold on tight. Let’s hunt!”

  Cerberus leapt forward and Conryu had the feeling of racing along though there was no real way to measure their progress in the void of Hell.

  As they ran Prime said, “That was impressive, Master. When did you learn to share your link to Cerberus?”

  “I didn’t, it was instinctive, like most of the crazy shit I try. I’m just glad it worked.”

  Sometime later Cerberus stopped and let out a bark.

  “What’s going on?” Yarik asked. The Imperial agent had remained silent for the entire trip.

  “Cerberus says we’re here.” Conryu hopped down and Yarik joined him. “Let’s take a look. Grant me the power to see through realms, Vision Gate!”

  A window into the mortal realm shimmered into existence revealing a small cabin on a grassy lot. A pair of white-uniformed soldiers armed with machine guns stood outside on either side of the door.

  “Is that it?” Conryu asked.

  Yarik stared, a look of pained longing twisting his face. “Yes. I’ve wanted so badly to return. It seems like another life when we lived here in peace. The job used to just be a job, you know. For a while I even thought I was doing good, protecting the people.”

  Yarik reached out, but his hand passed through the image like smoke. The portal shifted at Conryu’s mental command, swinging around to the rear of the house. No more guards on the outside.

  They moved through the wall, revealing a simple three-room interior. A tired-looking woman with dark hair and circles under her eyes sat knitting in a rocking chair.

  “Iliana.” Yarik breathed the words so softly Conryu barely heard them.

  It looked like the guys outside were the only guards. He could deal with them no problem. The image pulled back and settled into place ten feet from the guards. Conryu transformed the viewing window into an actual Hell portal.

  He raised a hand and stepped through, focusing on the guards’ weapons. “Shatter!”

  Both guns disintegrated in an instant. Conryu charged and before the stunned soldiers could react kicked one in the side of the head and took the other out with a right cross to the temple. They both went down in a heap.

  “Go get her.” Conryu removed the Cloak of Darkness and motioned Yarik toward the cabin.

  He rushed through the door, but Conryu didn’t follow. They deserved a moment alone together.

  “You handled that well, Master,” Prime said. “You’re getting better at using your powers. I didn’t even have to prompt you.”

  “I got a lot of practice this summer. Don’t worry, you’re not going to be out of a job any time soon.”

  Yarik emerged from the cabin, one arm around his wife and a suitcase in the other hand. The exhausted woman looked at Conryu and offered a shaky smile. She said something in a language he didn’t recognize.

  Conryu raised an eyebrow at Yarik.

  “My wife thanks you for rescuing us from this hell. I thank you as well.”

 
“My pleasure.” He didn’t see any reason to point out that they were about to travel through the actual Hell. “I need to cover you both in Cloak of Darkness. You might want to warn her.”

  Yarik babbled something at his wife who nodded. She probably would’ve agreed to anything if it got her out of the Dragon Empire.

  The trip back went as smoothly as he could have hoped and they emerged from the portal less than ten minutes after they left. You had to love traveling by portal.

  7

  The Land of the Night Princes

  Lady Wolf emerged from the portal at the exact spot she left. Her gaze darted around the empty courtyard. No unpleasant surprise waiting for her. That was a relief. Of all the things she’d expected, an attack by the witches wasn’t among them. It seemed the czar intended to honor his agreement.

  Anastasia must have sent them even if she didn’t give a direct order. A passing comment would have been enough to encourage the overeager girls to go after them. Clearly the witches had no idea what Lady Dragon was capable of. Lady Wolf hadn’t seen their temporary leader in battle for a while, but she remained every bit as impressive as she remembered. Any ambitions Lady Wolf might have harbored toward her position had died as quickly as the witches.

  Lady Wolf slipped back through the door and made her way through the passages toward the Hall of Antiquities where the czar kept his baubles. Fifteen minutes from now she’d be back at headquarters, subtly letting her sisters know she’d moved a little bit ahead of them in their master’s eyes. It would be fun, at least until Lady Tiger arrived with her triumph, then she’d gain pride of place, for a while. So things went in the Society.

  The halls leading to her destination remained as empty now as they’d been earlier. A knot formed between Lady Wolf’s shoulder blades. Something wasn’t right, but unless she wanted to turn back without her prize, she had no choice but to keep going.

  She reached the hall without encountering another soul. The czar stood beside the glass-enclosed case that held the artifact fragment.

  He turned when she entered. “You have it?”