Wrath of the Dragon Czar: Aegis of Merlin Book 5

by James E. Wisher

  “What about you?”

  “I need to let the elders know what has happened so they can spread the word to our people. No matter what, the Imperial army must not be approached. Go, now.”

  Emile vanished, leaving Talon on his own. He’d never imagined a situation like this. In all his many years Talon had never heard of an artifact that created artificial sunlight. It was like someone designed the thing specifically to kill his kind and now it was in the hands of their most implacable enemy.

  Conryu and Dean Blane stood on the shore of the lake watching the small tornado he’d conjured suck water up and shoot it into the air. A month had passed since he’d rescued Anya from Yarik and the academy had largely returned to normal, or what passed for normal at a magic school.

  No one had seen their way clear to tell him what they’d done with Yarik and his wife. He hoped Malice went easy on the guy. He seemed decent enough.

  Conryu twirled his finger, widening the base and transforming the water flow from a jet to a spray. He grinned. “Just like a hose nozzle.”

  Dean Blane nodded, but didn’t reply. She stared off into space, seemingly unaware he was even there.

  He snapped his fingers and the spell collapsed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you noticed anything odd about Anya? Her teachers say she’s not doing very well in her classes, mind wandering, not paying attention, that sort of thing.”

  She’d been a little distant lately, but he figured it was shock from the attack and kidnapping so he’d given her space. Maybe he should have shown more concern.

  “Want me to talk to her, see if I can get her sorted out?”

  Dean Blane beamed. “Would you? I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Sure. Lunch is in half an hour, I’ll find out what’s on her mind. We going to try another spell, or do you want to call this good for today?”

  She smiled, seeming back to her usual self. “How about two laps around the lake? You need to work on your precision turning.”

  “Race you.” He shot out over the water.

  To no one’s great surprise he lost the race, but only by half a length. He’d gotten better in the turns, but nowhere near as good as Dean Blane. She did have thirty years’ experience on him so he didn’t feel too bad about it.

  Conryu and Prime left the lakeshore and went to find Anya. His bodyguard duties had all but been called off so he didn’t need to escort her between classes anymore. On the one hand it was a relief, on the other he now had no idea where she might be.

  The cafeteria seemed as good a place as any to start so he headed that way. He pushed through the doors and found the tables half full. He spotted a few blonds, but not the one he was looking for.

  “Do you see her, Prime?”

  “No, Master, but your other females are trying to get your attention.”

  He spotted Maria waving a moment later. Kelsie sat beside her in their usual spot. Maybe one of them had seen Anya.

  Maria got up as he approached and hugged him. “Are you okay? You look a little distracted.”

  “I’m fine. Dean Blane asked me to talk to Anya. She’s been out of sorts in class lately and I’m supposed to find out why. Have you guys seen her?”

  Kelsie shook her head and Maria said, “Maybe she’s still in earth magic class.”

  “Maybe. Save us a couple spots. I’m going to keep looking.”

  “Good luck,” Kelsie said.

  He left the girls to their meals and returned to the stairs. Conryu figured she was more apt to be in her room than in class so he tried there first.

  He took the steps two at a time and nearly bowled Mrs. Lenore over at the bottom. They did an awkward little dance but kept their feet.

  “Sorry, you okay?” Conryu asked.

  “Fine.” She adjusted her robe and smoothed her hair. “What’s the rush?”

  “I’m trying to find Anya. Have you seen her?”

  “In fact I have. We came down together. I believe she’s in her room. What are you and Mrs. Umbra working on this year?”

  “Wards. I mastered one that drains the life out of anyone that crosses it, leaving them unconscious but alive. It’s like a fixed-position Reaper’s Gale. She said if I’m stuck with the death mark I might as well learn to get the most out of it.”

  “I didn’t know you had a death mark,” Mrs. Lenore said.

  Conryu rolled up the sleeve of his robe so she could see it. “I’ll tell you the story sometime, but right now I need to find Anya.”

  “It’s a date. I mean, not a date date, but you know what I mean.” She trailed off in a flustered, blushing huff.

  Conryu couldn’t help smiling. He’d missed talking with her. “I do know what you mean. And it is a date. See you later.”

  He left the still-crimson-cheeked teacher in the hall and made the short walk to Anya’s room. He knocked and waited. When no one responded he tried again. Still nothing.

  “Is she in there?”

  “Someone is,” Prime said. “I assume it’s her.”

  “Anya? It’s Conryu. Can we talk?”

  Another minute passed and he was just about to knock down the door when it finally opened. Anya looked at him with dark, bloodshot eyes. Her robe looked like she’d been sleeping in it. “Sorry. I thought you were that teacher. She’s sweet, but kind of annoying. Come in.”

  He stepped inside. Her room looked like one of his twisters had hit it. Clothes lay everywhere and she hadn’t made the bed.

  “So what’s up?” He sat in the room’s only chair and faced the bed.

  “Nothing.” She flopped on the mattress and stared at the ceiling. Talk about not convincing.

  “Come on, something’s bothering you. Dean Blane says you’ve been spacing out in class and it doesn’t look like you’ve been sleeping.”

  She sat up. “I’m worried about my mom. I can’t stop thinking about what Iliana said about the czar going to war with the vampires. She could be fighting for her life right now and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s so frustrating.”

  “Why didn’t you say something? If you want to go see your mom, I’ll take you.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “You will?”

  “Sure, we can go by dark portal on Sunday. I don’t have anything better to do with Maria buried up to her eyeballs in alchemy books. Besides, if I’m gone Kelsie can’t get me to test her cooking. We’ll need to figure out what time the sun sets over there. No sense arriving before your mom’s out of bed. You can check in and we’ll be back before anyone knows we’re gone.”

  Anya leapt off the bed and hugged him. “Thank you, I feel better already. I can’t wait to see her. I’m sure she’ll be keen to meet you too.”

  “Cool. I’ve never talked to a vampire. It’ll be a good one to knock off my list.”

  Conryu sat at the desk in his room and paged through the wind magic notes Dean Blane had given him, not really seeing the words. Sunday had arrived and after a nice lunch with Maria he’d retreated to his room to prepare. In a few hours they’d be leaving for the Land of the Night Princes. Anya wanted to go to the port of Constanta since she’d last seen her mother there. That suited Conryu, he considered himself more of a chauffeur than anything on this trip.

  He gave up and tossed his notebook on the desk. “Hey Prime, what do you know about vampires?”

  “A great deal, Master. What would you like me to tell you?”

  “How do I protect myself from them? Anya says they’re friendly, but I’d rather not go in without a backup plan.”

  “A wise precaution, Master. Vampires are essentially humans that have swapped the light energy that animated them for dark. The energy transformation grants them certain powerful magical abilities, but leaves them vulnerable to sunlight and silver, both of which are associated with light magic. They can also be controlled by powerful dark magic.”

  “Like what I did with the demons?”

  “Exactly. Demons and vampires aren’t that diffe
rent. A demon is dark magic given physical form and a vampire is a physical form filled with dark magic. You shouldn’t have any difficulty controlling one or the other.”

  “Do I use the domination spell?” As long as he didn’t have to fight a crowd of them all at once he should be okay.

  “There’s a variation of it that might work better.” Prime flipped open and flew down into his hands.

  Conryu read the spell over and over until he had it committed to memory. It really was a minor variation. Since his will controlled the magic he could probably get by with the demon version, but then again why risk it.

  Kai emerged from Hell and bowed. “I don’t believe this is a wise move, Chosen. Let me return home and gather a proper guard detail for you.”

  “Your dark weapons would be of little use against vampires,” Prime said.

  Kai rested her hand on the hilt of her sword and glared at the scholomantic.

  “Easy, you two. We’re not going to fight, just to say hi to Anya’s mom. She said she knows their leader so we should be fine. That said, I’m glad to have you as my ace in the hole, Kai.”

  “You may depend on me, Chosen.” She bowed again and vanished.

  “Are you trying to get yourself cut in half?” Conryu asked.

  “What? I simply wished to point out that her weapons may be less than effective against these particular enemies. I meant no offense.”

  “Try to be more careful in the future. Kai seems a little touchy when it comes to her weapons skills.”

  Prime snorted, an astonishing noise coming from a book. “You humans are so hard to predict. What sets off one of you doesn’t bother another in the least. Demons seem almost easy to predict in comparison.”

  “Sure, demons want to kill you no matter what you say.”

  “Exactly.”

  A quick knock ended their conversation. Before he could even get out of his chair Anya opened the connecting door and entered his room. She’d changed out of her robes and into a flowing white dress that left her legs bare from mid-thigh. A gold cross with a ruby in the center rested on her chest.

  “Nice outfit. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yup. I wore a dress like this the day we had to leave our house. I thought Mom might be more likely to remember me.” She chewed her lip a moment then asked, “You don’t think she’ll have forgotten, do you? You know, because of the transformation.”

  Conryu couldn’t imagine anyone forgetting Anya once they got a look at her. Before he could offer reassurance Prime said, “Do not be concerned. Though the change from human to vampire can be traumatic, it doesn’t cause any damage to the transformed person’s brain. Assuming your mother had no memory issues while alive, she shouldn’t have any now.”

  Anya nodded and from her expression he figured she didn’t know whether to be reassured or not. A fairly typical reaction whenever Prime said something.

  “We can stand here worrying about it or go see for ourselves.” Conryu held out his hand and when Anya took it he cast, “Cloak of Darkness.” Dark magic covered her from head to toe, protecting her from exposure to the energy of Hell.

  “Feels a little cool,” Anya said.

  “It won’t be for long. Reveal the way through infinite darkness. Open the path. Hell Portal!”

  The portal opened and Conryu pulled her through. It had barely closed behind them when Cerberus appeared.

  Anya yelped and moved behind him. Another typical reaction. At least the demon dog didn’t feel the need to growl at her.

  Conryu patted him on the flank. “Good boy. Wanna go for a run?”

  Cerberus barked and danced in a circle. Conryu couldn’t help smiling whenever he saw the giant demon hound prancing like a puppy. He looked around for Kai, but if the ninja was nearby, she kept herself well hidden.

  “Prime, how do I say ‘Constanta’ in Infernal?”

  “It doesn’t translate. Don’t worry. Just focus on where you want to go and Cerberus will get us there.”

  “Cool.” At Conryu’s mental command they flew up and landed on Cerberus’s back. He started to warn Anya to hold on, but the moment they settled in place she grabbed him around the waist so tight he had a little trouble breathing. “Okay, pal. Constanta, let’s go.”

  Cerberus barked and they were off.

  Conryu couldn’t recall ever seeing a more bleak landscape than the docks of Constanta. It looked like someone had bombed the place to ruins. The burned-out shells of half a dozen buildings sat to their left while to the right was the shell of an abandoned fortress. The sun hadn’t fully set yet, but he didn’t see any good place for a vampire to spend the night.

  “It’s all different,” Anya said as she turned in a circle. “The docks were run down before, but nothing like this. The vampires lived in those warehouses, or they were living there when we arrived. I’m not sure what we should do.”

  “Prime? Do you sense anything?”

  “No vampires, Master, but I detect a handful of humans.”

  Conryu deepened his connection with Prime to get an idea what he felt. The faint life forces came from their right, toward the main part of the city. He sensed nothing remarkable about them.

  “Scavengers, you think?” Neither Prime nor Anya had any idea, so he turned toward the city. “Let’s have a look around. Maybe someone can point us in the right direction.”

  “Do you even speak the local language?” Prime asked.

  Conryu stopped in his tracks. “Good point. Anya? Do the locals speak your language?”

  “The ones I dealt with spoke English. Still, there’s a lot of cross-border smuggling with the Empire so I’ll bet we can find someone that’ll understand us.”

  That was good enough for Conryu. They set off again, following Prime toward the life forces he sensed.

  The sun had fully set when they reached the city proper, forcing him to conjure a light. Steel and glass towers rose far above them. It didn’t look that different from Sentinel City or Central aside from the scale, assuming you could overlook the complete lack of people. The total silence seemed foreign to such a cosmopolitan area. It was like walking through a giant tomb. Not at all inappropriate given the local rulers.

  “It doesn’t seem like we’re getting any closer,” Conryu said.

  “Perhaps whoever lives here doesn’t wish to be found,” Anya said. She hugged herself and shivered. The thin dress probably wasn’t warm enough in the cool evening.

  “Master!”

  Conryu heard the steps a moment after Prime’s warning. He spun in time to see a man emerge from a side street. He had a long, curved dagger bare in his hand.

  Five steps from them a shapely, black-clad leg appeared from out of nowhere and kicked him under the chin. The attacker went down like a ton of bricks and stayed there when Kai’s sword touched his throat.

  Conryu could have handled a single assailant on his own, but he appreciated Kai stepping in. That’s what a ninja bodyguard was for after all.

  “Who might you be then?” Conryu asked.

  The man offered nothing beyond a low growl. Not at all friendly.

  “You might want to drop that knife,” Conryu said. “You’re making Kai nervous.”

  Kai cocked her head. “I’m not nervous, Chosen. If he does anything I don’t like I can kill him with a flick of my wrist. Rest assured he poses no danger to anyone now.”

  “I stand corrected. Anya, do you have any questions for the knife-wielding maniac?”

  “Where are the vampires? I need to find my mom.”

  The man glared at them then said in clear if heavily accented English, “Do your worst, Imperial. You’ll get nothing from me.”

  Conryu and Anya shared a look.

  “We’re not from the Empire,” Conryu said. “Well, I suppose Anya technically is, but she ran away. She passed through this country on her way and her mom was injured and transformed into a vampire. We’re just here to check in. Honest.”

  He looked closer at them. When his
gaze landed on Anya his eyes widened.

  “That cross, may I see it?” he asked.

  Kai pressed the tip of her sword to the soft flesh under his chin drawing a pained hiss. “The prisoner doesn’t get to make requests. If you refuse to answer the Chosen’s questions you will prove yourself worthless and thus expendable.”

  “It’s okay.” Anya crouched down. “Lord Talon gave this to me just before I left. He said anyone that saw it would know not to harm me.”

  “I thought I recognized it. I’ve seen the master wearing that cross before. When I asked him about it once he said it amused him to wear something humans imagined should cause him pain. I apologize for attacking you, but I believed you were Imperial scouts.”

  “Don’t trust him, Chosen,” Kai said.

  “I agree.” Prime flew down so he was just a few feet above the man. “Perhaps she should remove his knife hand. I’m curious to see how that sword cuts.”

  “That’s a reasonable idea,” Kai said. “If we remove his weapon hand, the risk will be greatly diminished.”

  Conryu slapped his palm to his forehead. “Right. This guy works for the head vampire. Maiming him would be a great way to make a first impression. Prime, give the man some breathing room. Kai, you can watch him, but no cutting unless he attacks one of us. Got it?”

  “Fine.” Prime flew up away from the prisoner, sulking through their link.

  “As you wish, Chosen.” Kai took her blade from his throat. “I will be watching closely.”

  “Okay, fine. Now, Mr…?”

  “Xavier.” The man climbed to his feet and sheathed his knife. “I answer directly to Lord Talon. He ordered me to keep watch on the port in case the Imperials tried to establish a second front in the invasion.”

  “So it’s true,” Anya said. “We’ve heard rumors. Is everyone okay?”

  “Unfortunately, no. Twenty vampires have been killed so far that I know about. The bastards have a weapon that renders them immobile even at night. We can’t counterattack and every day they send out hunters to find sleeping vampires. At the rate things are going…” Xavier shook his head. “Follow me. I have a radio at my camp. We’ll contact Lord Talon and see what he wants to do.”