by John Goode
They embraced, knowing together they could do it.
THE GUARD opened his hand and began to move it forward to give the order to charge when an ice spear pierced through his palm. He screamed as two dozen ice barbarians jumped out of the snowbank and began throwing their spears, Ferra in the lead as she formed another weapon in her hand.
Three days earlier
“OKAY,” FERRA said, walking back to Kane. “She can do it.”
Kane looked at Ater, and the dark elf nodded and returned to the castle. Kane watched him go, knowing he was stalling. Finally, however, he turned to the warrior and said, “Ferra, this is going to be rough, and I understand if you don’t want to do it, but I—”
Ferra cut him off. “You want me to go back to my people and ask them to fight as our ally.”
Kane closed his mouth and nodded.
“That witch of a queen notwithstanding, this is the place where our savior went. If we expect him to return, then we must fight to keep it and him safe. I can convince them to fight. Count on it.”
Kane paused for a moment. “Are you sure? They said to never return.”
Ferra gave him a smile. “People say a lot of things. We can’t be expected to remember them all.”
“I will convince Olim to open a gate for you. Can you handle the rear?”
Ferra scoffed at him. “You’ve never seen my people fight. The rear will be the least of your worries.”
Kane nodded. “Then we have ourselves a fight.”
“ALL FORCES indicate contact,” one of Olim’s guards informed Hawk, Kane, Adamas, and the ice queen as they watched the battle unfold inside the throne room. Olim had conjured a magical sheet of ice that showed different sections of the battlefield.
“Where did you find constructs from Tinker and Jones?” Olim asked as the first machine slashed the Dark army to ribbons a dozen at a time. Anyone who got near the whirling blades was cut down in a splash of blood and gore. Most of the troops ran as it advanced, creating even more confusion in the units behind them.
“Molly knows a guy,” Kane replied, watching Ferra’s people charge at the Arcadian troops, cutting them down in the name of Logos.
Told you this was a good idea, Kane sent to Hawk through the link. Hawk would have never thought of returning to the workshop, and his mind expressed admiration, while his smile expressed something else altogether.
So far it is, Hawk thought back. But this is just the first wave.
And the prince was right; Oberon pressed his attack on all fronts.
The Dark were finally able to take the crazed machine down only by throwing a stone giant into the blades, slowing it long enough for them to attack it. Though the gems were able to keep the larger animals at bay, the smaller ones raced past the barriers and were able to infiltrate the castle walls, attacking the archers on the ramparts, clearing the air for a bombing run.
Two firedrakes and a hippogriff swept from well outside the battle zone to drop magical charges onto the troops. Archers on the castle’s ramparts brought the hippogriff to earth, mortally wounded, but the firedrakes’ scales thwarted the arrows that hit their target. Annoyed, the drakes swept across the castle ramparts and wreaked havoc on the archers before returning to the battle, using flame as their weapon and distracting the ice giants from the battle on the ground by forcing them to defend themselves from airborne destruction.
Encouraged by the sight, Oberon’s troops cut down the ice barriers. Slowly, that part of Oberon’s armies slogged closer to the castle….
Much wiser and more cautious following their run-in with the first weapon, the Dark got halfway to the castle when the next machine Molly had brought activated.
“Hello again! We thank you for continuing your involvement in our live combat testing. You are now officially beta testing the new and improved Reaper-o-Death, our first foray into weapons of mass destruction.”
One of the hobgoblins looked over to his ally, a soldier in Oberon’s army. “That doesn’t sound good.”
A brass sphere hurtled out of the snow and hovered for a moment, motionless, ten feet off the ground.
“So what’s it supposed to do?” one of the troops asked. The soldier in line next to him snapped, “Down!” and hit the ground.
The sphere began to spin, firing hundreds of spikes into the army.
As the creatures were impaled, the voice asked, “How would you rate the effectiveness of this weapon? The louder you scream, the greater the level of effectiveness the weapon will be given.”
The weapon scored Very Effective.
The Arcadian troops recovered, finding cover behind a rock face and mounting some kind of defense against the barbarians. Using their snipers, armed with heavy crossbows, they began to pick off the barbarians as they tried to cover the distance to them.
“We need assistance!” Ferra yelled as another one of her people went down.
A trio of voices called out behind her as one. “In Logos’s name, we grant you life.” The elders held their hands up high, and a wave of power issued out from them.
“Kill those old men,” the fairy commander ordered, seeing the air distort under the effect of the magic.
The snipers would never get the chance. The rock they were using as cover began to shake and move. They staggered back as the rock stood up, unsure of where it was. Seconds ago it had been nothing; now it was alive.
“Kill it!” the guards screamed and swung toward it with their weapons.
And now the rock was angry.
“We need to stop those bombs!” Ruber called out as he and the ambers fought with gigantic grizzly bears.
Caerus was doing her best to lock down the mongoose spellcasters the tigers had brought with them, to little effect. “I’m open to suggestions.”
“Change of venue,” the ruby decided and concentrated on his surroundings.
The gemlings felt his magic the instant he began to cast.
“Ready yourselves,” one the ambers called as the ground beneath the fighting began to glow. The animals paused, feeling the unnatural vibration around them.
And then the ground fell out from under them.
The entire battle vanished from Olim’s realm and fell downward through Ruber’s dimensional wormhole. The gems were well used to this trip and calmly waited for the effect to pass. The animals, who had no idea what just happened, panicked.
An aide came rushing into Oberon’s tent. “Sir, there is a problem on the Wolflands flank.”
Oberon looked over, annoyed. “What problem?”
“Um, it’s not there anymore, sir?”
Kane cheered as the entire western flank went silent. “Still think we’re outmatched?” he asked Olim.
She concentrated her energies, making sure her troops had adequate magical powers for the fight. “Yes. Your ruby may have taken his foes out, but he also removed the defending force. Oberon will just send troops to expose the weakness. Do you have an answer for that?”
Kane looked over at Hawk and realized his partner had nothing.
“I’ll do it,” Kane said, grabbing a winter cloak from several hanging on hooks on the wall and heading toward the ramparts.
Hawk grabbed his elbow. “You can’t be serious.”
“Serious as NPR,” he answered, pulling his arm back. “She’s right; Ruber just left a huge opening in our defenses.”
“And you will what?” Hawk asked, worried as he had ever been since meeting Kane.
Kane smiled back at him. “Wing it.”
WING IT? Seriously, I sound like I’m stuck in Top Gun or something. What am I going to do? I’m going to stare down a part of Oberon’s army and try not to piss myself. After all, I’m pretty sure voiding one’s bowels on the battlefield is a show of weakness no one ever recovers from.
Dammit, now I have to piss.
As I climbed the stairs to the western rampart, I took a second to look over the battle. What was once a perfect winter wonderland was now littered with corpses a
nd fighting, with no end in sight. Is this what people do to the world? We destroy it wherever we go? All of this to decide who is going to plant a tree. So many lives lost over a shrub.
A squad? Company? I don’t know. A bunch of Oberon’s troops came over the hill and were heading straight toward the castle.
I closed my eyes and steadied my nerves. Then I reached out with my mind.
This was it, do-or-die time. I come up with something that would stop those guys or they would stab me and throw my corpse to freeze in the snow below. There was a fleeting moment of fear, and then I thought of my mom and how she had seen this coming and thought I could handle it.
And the fear went away.
These guys want to play fairy tales? Then let me introduce you to my own personal nightmare. The one villain that kept me awake for days when I saw it as a kid. You want a fight? Then, as she put it, fight all the powers of hell.
The shadows of the trees quivered as my mind touched them. In fact, every single shadow in the immediate vicinity came spilling out, making a pool of darkness in the snow below me. Oberon’s men paused, not sure what was happening.
My eyes opened, and a serpent’s head burst the surface of the shadows. Oberon’s forces stumbled backward when a massive dragon made of shadow climbed out of nowhere. A woman’s laughter cackled from its mouth as it looked down at them with neon yellow eyes.
“Run,” I snarled through the dragon’s mouth.
And then I breathed fire on them.
OBERON CAME out of his tent at the ever-louder sounds of screaming and looked out over the horizon. He saw the dragon breathe fire down on his troops, destroying them instantly, and lost the last of his temper.
“What in the Nine Realms is that thing?” he asked out loud. No one had an answer. “Don’t just stand there looking at it!” he bellowed at the nearest officer. “Get your men over there and kill that thing!”
The officer saluted and called out his men, knowing he and they were, most likely, not coming back.
HAWK BECAME lightheaded and grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself.
Olim helped him remain standing. “Kane’s power, it comes from life force—a life force that he shares with you now, doesn’t it?”
Hawk said nothing as he watched Kane scatter Oberon’s troops like they were gnats. “I’m fine,” he whispered, barely able to talk.
Olim shot a glare at Adamas. “Someone needs to get up to Kane and warn him if he keeps this up, he’ll kill Hawk and then himself. I warned him his powers came with a price.”
Adamas looked at Hawk and watched the color drain out of the prince’s face. He sped out of the room without a word.
OKAY, SO this is what power is like.
I made the dragon fight, and the dragon made the men run like little bitches. Why didn’t I do this earlier? I could have just made this thing and sent it out and saved everyone a lot of trouble. The dragon wasn’t alive, so it couldn’t be hurt, which meant they could hack away at it all they wanted. All hacking at it did was piss me off.
The guards had guts; I will give them that. They made a barrier with their shields, all 300-style, which protected them from the fire. What it didn’t protect them from was my incredibly large hand with its even larger claws that came slamming down on their little shield fort and sent them sprawling.
I started to pay attention to the front of the castle, looking for some way to help there too, when Adamas came flying up. “Kane, you must cease what you are doing. Now.”
Where everything Ruber says sounds like he is annoyed or just British, everything that comes out of his father’s mouth just sounds like a command. I don’t like people telling me what to do.
“Go back inside,” I said to him through the dragon’s mouth. “This fight will be over soon enough.”
“Stop what you are doing, or I will stop you,” Adamas countered, sounding like he was threatening me.
“Oh, will you?” I asked him, not impressed.
A beam shot from his core and hit me right in the face. I’m not going to lie. I don’t even remember hitting the ground, I was out so fast.
AS SOON as the dragon vanished, the battle began to turn badly for the heroes.
The eastern flank was captured at a high cost, since most of the Dark troops lost their lives attempting to take down Tinker and Jones’s insane creations. Without Kane or the gemlings, the western flank was locked down, which only left Ferra’s people in the rear and Olim’s forces in front.
Only when his victory was assured did Oberon appear on the battlefield.
Magically amplifying his voice, he called out to the castle. “This is your only chance to live,” he boomed. “Send Hawk’keen out, or I will not stop until every single one of your subjects is dead. You know I will do it, Ice Queen.”
Olim looked over to Hawk, who was putting a cold compress on Kane’s forehead. “He will do it. Make your choice, young prince. Do we surrender, or do we fight till the end?”
“There is always passage back to my lands,” Adamas suggested.
Hawk stood up and shook his head. “Get Ferra’s people away. If I don’t go out there, countless more will die.” He looked down at Kane. “So much for the kindness of strangers.”
“He will kill you,” Adamas told him.
“Get Kane and Ferra’s people out of here,” he repeated, ignoring Adamas’s words. “And then collapse the portal behind you.”
It was impossible to gauge the diamond’s mood since he had no expression, but his voice sounded very tired. “It was an honor fighting by your side.”
Hawk smiled at him. “The honor was mine.” He turned to Olim. “Tell your people to retreat. I’m going out there.”
She just nodded.
“And thank you for not saying I told you so,” he added as he knelt down and kissed Kane’s cheek.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he got up and walked out of the castle.
OBERON SAW his “son” walk out of the castle, and he knew he’d won. He looked over to his field commander. “As soon as I engage him, take a squad into the castle and seize whoever you can find. This reeks of a stalling tactic, and I don’t want the rest of these traitors to slip out the back door.”
The commander nodded and walked away.
Oberon waited for Hawk to make his way to him.
HAWK GOT a few yards from Oberon and paused. “Let these people go,” he said. “Your fight is with me and not them.”
The fairy king cocked his head and smiled. “If it was between you and me, then they shouldn’t have become involved. Come now, haven’t I taught you there is always a price?” He held his hand out. “Give me the seed.”
Hawk summoned Truheart to his hand. “If you want it, come take it.”
Oberon shook his head and sighed. “Always the hard way.” He summoned his own blade and brought it up en garde. “Do you really think you can beat me?”
Hawk just stared at the man. “I already have.”
Oberon snarled and lunged at the younger man. Sparks sizzled when the two magical blades struck each other. Oberon’s blade was known as Thanthos and was a soul blade like Truheart. Each sword was bonded with its owner. A piece of his soul resided in the weapon, giving them their magical powers. The blades were evenly matched, which meant the only real difference in the fight was the skill of the combatants.
And in this case, the advantage was distinctly Oberon’s.
Where the young prince was in peak physical condition and well trained, he did not possess the centuries of experience. At first, both men seemed evenly matched, but then Oberon gauged Hawk’s skill and began to really attack. By the third pass they made at each other, Oberon’s advantage was readily apparent.
Hawk stumbled forward as Oberon sidestepped his son’s attack and took the time to slash open Hawk’s cheek as he went by. “Always rushing headlong when you should be observing,” Oberon chided as Hawk turned around and brought his blade up again. “Always been your problem
—your mother’s too, for that matter. Too much fight and not enough brains.”
“You talk too much, old man,” Hawk said as he lunged again.
Oberon slapped Truheart aside and took a slice across Hawk’s chest for good measure. “You seem winded. Are you sure you’re up for this?”
Hawk tried not to let the pain enter his voice. “I’m waiting for you to really fight.”
Oberon stared at him like he was from another planet and brought his blade up. “Very well, you want a fight.” Oberon’s hand flashed out, twice hitting Hawk’s sword and knocking the weapon out of the youth’s hand. The third strike slid past his third and fourth rib. Hawk cried out and fell to the snow.
“Now,” Oberon said, pacing around his foe. “One more time. Give me the seed.”
Hawk refused to look up at him. “You want it, take it yourself.”
“Oh dear God,” Oberon said, reaching down into the boy’s shirt, grabbing the golden chain around his neck. “Now it’s mine!” He yanked the chain free and raised his prize skyward.
Hanging from the chain was a polished piece of solid black obsidian.
“Explode,” Hawk commanded, and the gem glowed.
Oberon cried out as the shock threw him back into the snowbank. Hawk scrambled to his feet, ignoring his pain to grab his sword and tried to thrust it into his father’s prone body.
Which was when one of Oberon’s guards grabbed Hawk and pulled him away.
The fairy king got up slowly, soot and ash marring his features. “Where is it?” he roared, grabbing Hawk’s tunic with his fist. “Where is the seed?”
Hawk smiled at him defiantly. “Gone. Where you will never find it.”
Oberon summoned Thanthos to his hand and held it to Hawk’s throat. “Tell me, or I will kill you.”
The prince let out a short bark of laughter. “You’re going to kill me anyway. You’re going to have to work on your negotiating skills, Father. They are sorely lacking.” Oberon glared at him, searching for another way to make his son talk. “The seed is long gone, where you will never find it. So threaten to kill me, torture me. I will never tell you.”
