“Yes, I am.” Starlyn continued to grin sheepishly.
“The stories are true then that kheshlars hold appearances beyond beauty.”
Her cheeks reddened deeply. “Do you have a family?”
“Yes…yes, I do.”
His eyes watered as his mouth tightened. No tears fell, but he sighed and stared at the ground. Strength enough to snatch a switch from the ground found him, and he began twirling it, drawing figures in the dirt. He shivered as he looked at a picture of a woman and three children.
“I have a wife and three kids. I am eager to get back to them, yet I do not want to head home until I know those savage beasts will do them no harm. I wish to see these abominations destroyed.”
“It seems…today may be your lucky day,” Karceoles nodded with a twinkle in his eye.
“Do you hunt draeyks as well?” Andron asked with a hint of excitement touching his breath.
“We more than hunt the draeyks. We have maps and locations of all their settlements. We plan on annihilating all of them.” Karceoles pried a scroll from under his horse’s saddle and handed it to Andron.
The man’s eyes lit up with excitement. His hand seemed to touch the hilt of his sword for a moment before shakily drifting back to the scroll. He paused a moment to study each one of them with bewilderment in his eyes. There was doubt in his expression but hope as well.
“What are your names?”
“I am Karceoles the Wise, fire wizard of Calthoria.”
“Wise?” Searon barked a laugh.
“Fool, I am wise!”
“As you say, old man,” Searon grinned before turning back to Andron. “I am Searon De’Athaniel of Calthoria.” His voice faded before lowering to a whisper. “No longer do I have a city to claim myself to.”
“I am Starlyn Nightsky of Sudegam.”
Andron nodded patiently as he continued studying the three. “A human, kheshlar, and wizard…and you seem to have quite the adventure ahead of you. Still, it does not seem possible with only three.”
“Perhaps with four we could manage,” Karceoles grinned.
“Are there warriors in your city of Guerettos that may aid in our battle?” Searon asked.
“Better than that. There are two neighboring cities that would leap at a chance to destroy the draeyks.” Andron slid a dagger from his sash and began to sharpen it on a stone.
“Perfect. Perhaps with an army of humans by our side, the kheshlars will follow suit,” Karceoles reasoned.
“Not true,” Starlyn admitted with saddened eyes.
She had experience with the kheshlars before, leading them to their last war. Adding to the fact that she was a kheshlar and even though she no longer thought the way they did, she still knew. The king put her in charge of keeping the borders of Sudegam safe from draeyks because he knew nobody would take the role more seriously. Yet despite her efforts, the king wouldn’t allow any forces outside the borders.
“Karceoles raised his left eyebrow. “How so?”
“The kheshlars will only ally if personally threatened by the draeyks. For it to be a full-scale war, there would have to be a large force directly threatening the capital.”
“Kheshlars are one of the most foolish and stubborn races on this world,” Karceoles muttered under his breath.
“There are more stubborn?” Searon asked warily with an odd glance toward the wizard.
Karceoles’s eyes twinkled for an instant as he grinned. “Only one.”
“There might be a way to arrange an attack against the kheshlars,” Searon nearly whispered.
From what he’d learned of draeyks he knew that they would not back away from a battle when provoked. On the other hand, the kheshlars would not attack but only defend. It was clear what had to be done, but the only question was how.
“What are you proposing?” Starlyn asked with a raised gold eyebrow.
“Once attacked, the draeyks will follow; I wonder how far they will chase.”
“Are you suggesting we lead them into kheshlarn territory?” Karceoles asked.
“If we do not have an army to battle against such odds, then we have no choice but to lead them to an army that can defeat them.”
“Your theory is stupid enough to work…I like the way you think,” Karceoles grinned.
“We need a large settlement of draeyks to infiltrate. How far is the closest?” Searon asked, patiently looking at the wizard.
“Ten leagues north.” Karceoles stood brushing hair from his face to check his saddlebags. He turned to Andron with a grin still staining his face. “You may ride with me, boy.”
“It’s settled then,” Searon said, rising to his feet.
“It seems I have arrived just in time for the action,” Andron smiled.
Andron didn’t have enough energy to rise to his feet. Starlyn helped him and walked alongside of him to Karceoles’s horse. The wizard held out his hand and heaved Andron onto the horse behind him so he could steady himself by holding onto his back.
The two horses trotted the majority of the way but were allowed to walk for rests a few times. Searon’s mind was blazing with revenge against the draeyks, and it was nearly all that he could think about. Nothing or nobody was going to get in his way. He knew that he needed more allies in order to overcome the draeyks, and no longer was it a needless quest of revenge until his death. Now he would be able to destroy them completely and put them back into the ground where they belonged.
The horses were paced at a medium walk now with Karceoles and Andron next to Searon and Starlyn. Andron stared at Searon with curiosity on his young face. There was respect in the young warrior’s eyes.
“Were you a leader of an army?” Andron asked.
Searon glanced at the man with an eyebrow raised. “No, my people never went after the draeyks. We were oblivious to their existence. In my town, I was the weapons trainer.”
“What was it that brought you here?” he asked with a twist of his lips.
“Revenge,” Searon growled through gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
“Tell me about your town.”
Andron smiled. “It stands at the brink of the sea, with birds that soar high above, squawking into the distance. The sound of the ocean is the most mesmerizing sound that echoes with running water and waves that crash into the sand. There is a large lighthouse that overshadows the tallest buildings of the town with a giant flame during the night so vessels can find their way to shore. It is truly a sight you must behold yourself, Sir Searon.”
“It truly does sound amazing.”
Searon remembered the first time he saw the ocean. It was with Victoria when Kellen was five, and it was the grandest sight to behold. He remembered the look on Victoria’s face when she stared at it, holding his hand as they both had sat on the beige sand. Kellen had pranced through the water, splashing about without a care in the world.
His mind was lost to thought of the current situation as he flashed back in time into the arms of his love.
* * *
“It is wonderful, Searon. There is so much water.”
“Yes, my love, it goes on farther than the eye can see, for leagues. Right now, all of it belongs to only you and me.”
She had smiled. “The world belongs to us, my love. Anything we want, it is within our reach.”
He had returned her smile and placed his hand just below her jaw to raise it up. Her swirling milk chocolate eyes froze him for a moment as they always had. Leaning in, he brought her face to his and gently kissed her soft lips. The sound of the ocean echoed in his ears as their lips melted together to become one.
* * *
“Searon?” A familiar voice seemed to come from nowhere.
He snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Andron. The man looked at him with concern in his eyes. “Are you okay, Searon?”
“Yes…I’m fine. It was just another fond memory. One day, I will have to come to reality that thos
e no longer exist,” Searon said with a small smile.
Searon tightened his reins and sped Stripes forward. He had little patience anymore for idling. Revenge was the only thing on his mind after the memories of Victoria came flooding through. His teeth clenched, and his body tightened. He felt Starlyn grip tighter on his waist to reassure him, but he disregarded it.
Chapter 12
It was near dusk by the time they arrived at the hilltops to glance down at the draeyk camp. Searon brought his stallion to a stop and climbed from it to glance down upon the settlement. He was cautious to remain hidden, which was a difficult feat without any surrounding trees to hide behind. Still, he could clearly see the camp that still stood a league and a half away.
The camp was unsettled, as draeyks scurried about, tormenting each other and getting into fights. There seemed to be little control between the creatures, proving they were more like animals than men. Fires blazed in several areas throughout the camp where they carelessly cooked animals from bison to rabbits. They ate like they were complete savages, tearing the flesh with their sharpened yellow teeth and even devouring the bones.
“Less than a hundred armed,” Starlyn whispered.
He turned to spot her crouched down on the hill next to him. Andron was on his other side, squinting his eyes hard in an attempt to see anything. Searon shook his head, realizing the kheshlar came there to help be his eyes. He wondered how she would react if she knew he didn’t need her.
“Yes, but you are forgetting the fifty crossbowmen in the back of the camp. They spread out swiftly with an attack, and a retreat will be near impossible.”
Starlyn stared at him now with eyes wide. “You can see them?”
“I can hear them as well; they are uneasy shifting their loaded crossbows with loose bolts. I’m afraid this will not be an easy task to accomplish without much cover. There appears to be four hundred total including those in the tents.”
“We will need something creative,” Andron whispered.
“My turn for an idea,” Karceoles grinned as he walked up behind them.
He stood behind them, looking down at the camp. There seemed little concern for shielding himself. Searon eyed him warily before getting to his feet and gesturing the wizard back away from sight.
“We need something that will work. Not just something that you consider fun,” Searon snapped.
“Ah, but this idea is fun, and it will work. Draeyks are more animal than human. It is bloodlust that they crave. If we merely spook them, they will chase us as far as we want them to.”
“No, Karceoles. A plan must be discussed.”
Karceoles paid him no heed and walked past him to the edge of the hill. Searon tried to stop him but burned his hand when he touched the wizard’s zylek. An orange glow surrounded the zylek, causing the wood to steam. A sphere of light appeared at its tip that was at first blinding white but soon changed to orange before catching aflame. Karceoles jerked his zylek forward, releasing the magic, causing the fireball to swirl into motion at incredible speed toward the draeyks’ camp.
Searon knew he should have run like the wind in that instant. It would have only made sense to jump onto Stripes and pull the reins with all his might to take the horse on a full gallop. Instead, he took two steps forward and watched with interest at the speeding fireball. Andron stepped next to him with a gulp in his voice and a shudder flowing through his body.
The fireball struck at the main campfire, disintegrating everything in its immediate area. There was no longer a roasting bison there nor the dozens of draeyks that were crowding the fire. The gray tent that was behind the fire vanished in milliseconds as the flame devoured it. Ashes seemed to scatter the ground everywhere in the center of the camp. Weapons were lifted promptly as snarls echoed from the creatures. The creatures looked around furiously before staring directly at Searon. He felt hate flash into his eyes, and he cringed and took a step back.
“Time to run,” Andron whimpered in a hoarse voice. He clutched onto his sword’s hilt tucked tightly in its scabbard before turning the other direction and fleeing.
Searon was the first to jump on his horse, with Starlyn directly behind him, clutching her arms around him tightly. Stripes dashed off at a pace that nearly knocked them from their saddle. It seemed the horse knew danger as surely as they did and took no time to delay. He glanced back to see Andron and Karceoles saddling up before looking back ahead to steer his stallion. As long as the two were secured, Searon didn’t have to pay them any more heed. The fool of a wizard had really got them into a pickle now. There was at least a league of open terrain before trees could cover their tracks. At least without the cover of trees Stripes was able to run at full gallop, and without obstacles.
After traveling all day to reach the draeyk camp, now there was no time for rest. The fool wizard couldn’t even wait a day for them to rest before moving forward with his foolish plan. Searon had his full faith in his horse, Stripes, that had got him out of tight spots in the past. With a glance behind, Searon was glad that none of the draeyks had horses or four-legged beasts of any kind to ride and perhaps catch up with them. The creatures were fast enough on their feet that he could only imagine how quick they would be with mounts.
Searon shifted in his saddle, making Starlyn get in front to ride. She was reluctant at first, pleading that she couldn’t ride like a human. With much effort and dire need, he finally convinced her. She would not touch the reins, though, and tied them to the saddle. Instead, she gently caressed the horse behind the ear and whispered to it. Strangely enough, the horse seemed soothed by her words and continued at its hard pace.
Searon loosened the longbow that hung from his saddle and grasped a quiver that he hung on his back. He noticed that a few of the creatures were drawing close on Andron and Karceoles. Licking his lips, he notched an arrow and released. The arrow sped forward, missing Andron’s face by millimeters and struck into the skull of a leaping draeyk. It was two hundred paces away but not too far for Searon’s range. He didn’t like to use the bow that often, but he would in dire need. The creature tumbled harmlessly to the ground instead of reaching the wizard’s mare.
“Quite a shot for a human,” Starlyn whispered.
“Don’t watch me, drive Stripes forward!” Searon croaked.
He notched another arrow and looked hard before releasing it. There was a break between the wizard and the human that the arrow traveled between, missing both of them by millimeters and striking down another draeyk. Notching a third arrow, he studied the following party hard. He counted the creatures coming to a total of 338. That meant the wizard’s magic killed sixty and he killed two—but Karceoles didn’t have the luxury of using any more magic while he fought his horse hard to speed up. He settled on another target and released, watching with pleasure as the arrow struck two draeyks and both dropped to the ground. The arrow pierced the first through the throat and the one behind it through the eye.
Searon had spent a lot of time developing an arrow that could penetrate the creatures’ scales. He did have several years of hunting them to try new things, but it wasn’t something new that worked. Instead, he used their own scales to create arrows. They had to be sharpened for hours until they were sharp enough, but they were harder than steel and notoriously difficult to shape. The bow he used was specially crafted as well so it could shoot farther than most.
He released another fifteen arrows, dropping twenty of the creatures before he attached the quiver back onto the saddle. There were only thirty arrows remaining, and he didn’t want to waste them all in case there was a future need for them. They were still a long way away from being free and clear, and most of the night had passed, coming onto morning with them still running. The draeyks would not give up easily, if ever.
When they reached the wide river in the meadow, there was no time for magic. Besides, Karceoles was still several paces behind, and Searon wasn’t going to waste time reaching a decision. He nudged Starlyn and motioned her to get
back in passenger position. She nodded reluctantly, still eyeing the approaching river. To Searon’s amazement, he watched as she stood on the horse and leaped into the air. He slid forward to grasp the reins and soon felt her arms back around his. An eyebrow arched in surprise, but he disregarded her acrobatics quickly. Bloody kheshlars, he thought.
The river in front of them was calmer than usual, and he could see a span of dirt amid the current, just past the grass on its nearest bank. Searon thanked the new moon from the night before. Goats scattered about as they neared, which explained the well-trimmed grass and shrubs in the area. However, rapids still furiously clashed against sharpened stones making the river treacherous. Searon stared uneasily at the roiling blue water and rubbed Stripes behind the ears.
“Come on, boy, I know you can do this. Leap hard, and tread fast.”
Stripes seemed to nod approval before Searon flicked the reins. The horse leaped far through the air by five paces, enough to bring jealously to any horse rider, before splashing into the river. They were only halfway across, and Searon urged the horse forward. He felt Starlyn release him, and he glanced in surprise to her swimming across with incredible speed. Within seconds, she was already across and standing to look back at them. Stripes pulled through, and after a few minutes they were across and soaked from head to toe.
After another few minutes, Karceoles’s mare approached the river, and to no surprise his zylek rose into the air to glow orange. His lips moved in a chain of words that caused the water to separate in front of him. His horse dashed through in quick strides before he released the magic to turn the river back into its natural state. There were draeyks trailing him too close, though, and several of them got through. Searon counted seven that snuck through the river’s opening. The rest watched the water in fury and began to spit hissing curses.
Karceoles kept on for a few paces until he reached Searon and turned his steed around to meet the draeyks. His zylek was attached to the saddlebags, and he pulled his sword out to strike down a draeyk through its skull. Searon grinned as he pulled out his claymore to strike at a creature, quickly decapitating it. Starlyn leaped from the saddle as Andron did, and the two of them together fought in unison side by side. Andron was using the fighting style Searon knew as fanning peacock, which consisted of a series of overhand blows that mirrored the range of a peacock’s spread feathers. Starlyn’s style, however, was strange to Searon. She used her hammer, but it consisted of only side blows to the left and right of the creatures with no overhead or underhand. It was peculiar to Searon but quite effective as he watched her drop three creatures with ease as Andron struck down two.
The Crimson Claymore Page 9
