“Succubi?” Kayleb’s heart chilled. This couldn’t be happening. How could Vindha conceive of such a monstrous plan? “You can’t do this. Kill me. Kill me,” he screamed.
Vindha sneered. “You are my prisoner. I can do what I want. Any king who dares to oppose me will face the same punishment. You will live the rest of your life in the caves of succubi. You will help them breed, Kayleb. I hear it’s an intensely pleasurable act…for the succubi.”
Kayleb called upon his magic. He wanted to destroy Vindha. Failing that, he wanted to kill himself. Any fate was better than this. Once more, his power eluded him.
Despite the innumerable odds Kayleb had faced during the past few days, the battles, the death and loss of dear ones, this was the first time that he felt the keen edge of despair like he had never felt before. He should have died on the battlefield. Any fate was preferable to this. During the long days of combat, when he faced swords and magic, Kayleb never gave up. He never allowed himself to break down, to show fear or desolation.
But as the guards led him out of the tent, he screamed, and screamed, and screamed. And the world heard his screaming until he was delivered to his fate.
Chapter Two
Alicia sat opposite her brother and watched the few, select people who were called to take a place around the white marble table that occupied the central place in the large hall. Small, square tables stood against the walls, each laden with tomes and maps. This was the first assembly of King Seve’s war council. He had chosen its members with careful deliberation and with a definitive purpose in mind.
Seve took his own time to do things, but when he decided on a course of action, no one could shake him off it. He was impartial, and possessed an uncanny ability to go right to the root of the problem. And that’s why Alicia intended to present her arguments in a calm, clear manner. It was imperative that he agreed with and supported her terms.
Like it or not, Iram was involved in a conflict that had been brewing for the past many years. And it was time for them to take a stand and do something about it. She watched as her twin sister Zo strode into the room, followed by her fiancé, commander Arkon. The two took the remaining seats next to Alicia. The table that occupied most of the room was now full.
It was time to begin the council.
“Seeing as we are all here now, Zo, could you please secure the room?” Seve requested.
Zo took off a pouch that hung at her belt. Opening it, she fished out a few brown stones. With these in hand, she walked to the nearest wall. As was her nature, she brought forth her magic in short, powerful bursts. Walking from wall to wall, she threw the stones and wove her spell with an admirable efficiency. The air around her shimmered and sparkled as a fine haze settled over the walls, preventing anyone from using magic or other means to eavesdrop on the conversation in the room. Alicia was amused to see that Zo took the time to secure the ceiling as well as the walls. As expected, her sister did a thorough job, making sure every inch of the council room was protected before returning to her seat.
“We are ready,” she announced, tying the pouch back in her belt.
“About time,” muttered Zima as she fidgeted on her seat, glancing at Zo with a baleful, almost angry look.
Alicia suppressed a smile. Clearly, Zima still hadn’t forgiven Zo for suspecting that she was the mastermind behind the daring, almost-successful attack on Seve’s life a few weeks ago. If it wasn’t for Alicia’s courageous spell, and Zo’s dedicated pursuit to acquire the antidote for the poison he had been administered, Seve would not have survived—but his sisters made sure he lived.
And now he was focused on his goal of stopping Vindha from enslaving the entire world. Seve, like everyone else in this room, believed that everyone deserved a chance to live free in a peaceful and fair environment—and Vindha had no right to claim otherwise.
She watched her brother as he carefully pulled open a rolled map and pushed it to the center of the table. At twenty-seven years of age, Seve was young. But his lean, handsome face didn’t show the steely determination, courage, and sharp sense of purpose that formed the core of his personality. He was an accomplished water mage, and yet trained with a sword every day to improve his skill as a warrior. In battle, Vindha would find him to be a worthy and dangerous opponent.
As Seve surveyed the map, Alicia took the opportunity to eye each person seated around the table; Zo, Arkon, Maya, Theodore, Zima, Jace, Arian, Ashar, Savine, Res and Aed were all chosen for their skills as mages or warriors. The only surprise was perhaps the boy prophet, Leo. At aged eleven, he was the youngest member of the council, and although she saw no reason for his presence, Seve probably had a good reason to summon him here today.
Seve cleared his throat. “As you are all aware, we are at the brink of a war. The time to stand apart and let Vindha raze the world has gone. We need to do something now or else Iram would find itself alone and vulnerable after Vindha finishes conquering the rest of the world. The only reason he hasn’t attacked us as yet is because Iram is a small island. His attention has been fixed on the bigger kingdoms. But we can be sure he will not spare us for long. What’s more, we can’t just sit idle and watch him kill innocent people.”
“I have a proposal,” said Zo in her usual blunt manner. “I suggest we meet with the resistance army, currently fighting their stealthy battle with Vindha on the mainland and ask them to join us. There are over a thousand of them. We have around a hundred mages and six hundred warriors. Together, we can present a fearful challenge to Vindha.”
Zo had met the resistance leader, Ibad, his son Isa, and their army hidden in the jungle in Jiambra, Vindha’s home kingdom, from which they launched their attacks on Vindha. Since her return two weeks ago, she was urging Seve to allow her to go back and help them in their fight.
Seve nodded. “We will do so, Zo. But we must take into account every factor that has a bearing on this situation. First, I want you to hear something Leo has to say.”
Leo stood. Zo had rescued the boy from the mainland when she traveled to acquire the antidote for the poison. Alicia didn’t know the boy so well, but from all that she heard, she knew he was a gifted prophet. The Goddess had blessed him with the vision, and the akachimas were doing all they could to hone his talent. The akachimas were women warriors, bound to the prophet with an ancient pledge. Not only were they deadly capable of protecting him, but also helped train and guide him. Five of them resided in one of the castle outbuildings, where they kept watch over him and gave him lessons.
“Hmmm…” Leo glanced at Zo as if seeking reassurance.
She nodded. The two of them shared a special bond, perhaps because she had saved him from two of Vindha’ mages. Since then he considered her his personal guardian.
“I had a vision. There is a temple, high atop a mountain, and someone is using it to do something bad.” His voice was calm and steady. The earlier hesitation he felt disappeared as he explained what he saw. “I saw a crack in the earth, and if you peer inside, there is a river of lava boiling deep down. Something bad comes out of the lava once in a while. A great numbers of mages are doing a spell there,” he said and sat.
“Thank you, Leo,” said Seve. “Leo had this vision a week ago, and the akachimas came and told me about it. After a careful study of the images he saw, and the geographical markers of the mainland, the akachimas drew this map. It points to the general location of the temple.” Seve put his finger in the middle of the mountain range that nearly divided the mainland into two uneven pieces. The mountains had different names in different kingdoms, but on the map they were referred to as Asmissa Mountains.
Although she had never stepped on the mainland, Alicia knew that the only easy access available to travel from one side of the mountain range to another was a pass to the east. Vindha’s army would surely access the other kingdoms through that pass.
For a moment all of them stared at the map.
“If Leo’s vision is correct, this temple must be the place
where Vindha is creating his demon mages,” said Aed.
“Zo, could you please give your description of these demon mages and their abilities?” said Seve. During her travels a few weeks, she, along with Leo, Arkon and the akachimas, had to battle a demon mage.
Everyone’s attention turned to Zo. “The durkhas, or the demon mages, are not the creation of the Goddess. Vindha’s mages trap a demon into the dead body of a mage. The demons can’t exist outside the lava for long, but this physical shell allows them to do so. They look ordinary, except they have pale skin, red eyes and lips that are almost blue. Their power is immense. A lone demon mage is equal to at least eight or ten mages, and that is because they can control all the elements.”
Theodore tapped his fingers on the table. “How is that possible?”
The magic of the mages was connected to the elements of air, earth, fire and water. Each mage was born with the talent to manipulate and use one element. Very few rare mages, like Alicia and Zo, had the ability to use two elements. Maybe it was because they were twins, or perhaps it was something else altogether, but they were the only known mages who could use two elements. It was unheard of to hear of someone who could employ all four elements. It would make that particular mage extremely powerful.
“The demons’ magic is different from ours. They are able to control all four elements,” said Zima. She was the chief librarian in the castle. “They don’t tire easily. The use of magic doesn’t drain them of energy. And because their bodies are already dead, they can’t be physically harmed. There are enough hints in different books to get an idea about the power and strength of these mythical creatures.”
“And yet they are not mythical anymore. Arkon and I had the misfortunate to run across one of them.” Zo lifted her eyebrow. Her hazel eyes sparkled with resolve. “Or should I say he chased us and damn near killed us. If it wasn’t for the akachimas, and a slight bit of luck, we would have died at his hand. We barely escaped him.”
Arkon cleared his throat. “It wasn’t just luck. You used your magic.”
“My magic was no match for his power.”
“If that was the case we wouldn’t have lived through that day,” he countered.
Seve turned his attention to his commander of home guard. “What are you saying, Arkon?”
Arkon leaned forward. “All I am saying is that those unnatural beasts…demons…whatever they may be, maybe they are all-powerful but they are not invincible. We just have to find a way to destroy them.”
“Breaking apart that temple would be my first step,” Zo said. “It would stop Vindha from making new ones.”
“Trust Vindha to come up with something so brilliantly foul,” said Zima. “That boy was always trouble, far too ambitious for his own good. Well, if that temple is where he is making these mages, you can be sure he would have protected that place with an army.”
“Which kingdom do the mountains belong to?” Zo turned the map so she could study it better.
“The mountains have always been no-man’s land. The akachimas are not sure about the particular peak where the temple is located. We will have to find it, and figure out the exact route to it. The mountain range is huge; if we have to search each and every one of them, it will take a lifetime, and that we don’t have,” said Seve. He pulled at the lobe of ear, an old habit that indicated he was in deep thought.
“The best thing would be to travel to the kingdoms that border the mountains, and search for any clues or information,” said Alicia.
“Yes. That’s what I was thinking.” Seve nodded. “But we can’t just focus on the temple. Our strategy needs to be multi-pronged. One, we need to locate the temple and annihilate it. Two, we need to find a way to destroy the demon mages who are already in Vindha’s army. And three, we need to send an emissary to the free kingdoms on the other side of the mountains, and ask them to ally with us.” Seve leaned back. “Our best chance to defeat Vindha is if all free kingdoms unite together.”
Theodore put his hands on the table. He was an air mage, and a trainer at the mage camp. “At the last count, as witnessed by Zo and Theodore, he had an army of three thousand. If the northern kingdoms join us, along with the resistance army and the men at our disposal, we have a good chance to gain victory over Vindha. Our numbers would be far greater than his.”
“I don’t think that the army we saw in the mainland was his entire force,” said Theodore. “I got reports from other areas about his legions. He dispatched a large section of his force to Asanya also. Together, he might have more than eight thousand men in his army, and that doesn’t include the men and women that will join him from the kingdoms he has conquered.”
“If the northern kingdoms join us, we will be able to give him a good fight,” said Seve.
“Not if he has these demon mages in his army,” said Zima. She shook her head. “One of those demon mages can wreck havoc to an entire legion.”
Seve rubbed his jaw. “We have to destroy that temple, and we have to find a way to send those demons back to the hell from which they have sprung forth. Now, Zima and I have discussed it at length, and the only way to destroy the temple would be for earth mages to close that gap which was created by Vindha. He has used some kind of complicated, dark magic, but that link can be severed.”
“I volunteer for that task,” Alicia offered, finally sensing an opportunity she had been waiting for.
Zo nearly shot up from her seat. “No! You are not going in there to face those demons from hell.”
Alicia turned her face her twin. “And why not? You don’t think I can do it?”
“You are the best earth mage in the world but, it’s too dangerous. Tell her, Seve.” She turned to her brother for support. “We can’t risk her life.”
Seve stared at both his sisters. “Unfortunately, she is right, Zo. Alicia is the best one out of all us. She is the most powerful earth mage we’ve all ever known.”
“You can’t just send her into the lion’s den without any preparations. That pit is not going to close with a simple spell. You will need to devise a strong spell that will generate enough energy to do the job.”
Alicia tapped her fingers on the table in a light, elegant movement. “I already have such a spell.”
Zo sputtered. “You have…” She turned to Seve, glowering. “You both went behind my back and cooked up this scheme, didn’t you?”
Alicia sighed. “Don’t blame Seve. He wanted to tell you, but I wanted to be sure that I could create a spell that would do this job. And I just completed it yesterday.” She smiled at Zo’s disbelieving expression. “And of course I knew you wouldn’t really approve of this plan.”
Zo raised her hand. She nodded impatiently. “Fine! I understand. This is an important task. We will send someone else to talk to the leaders of the resistance army, and I will come with you.”
Taking Zo with her was the last thing Alicia wanted. “You will be useless to me,” she said with an uncharacteristic brutality. “Only an earth mage can weave this spell, and that’s not your element.”
“I will protect you.” Zo was not fazed by her sister’s rejection. “We will take other earth mages with us.”
“The bigger the party the greater the attention it will generate. Isn’t that what you said a few weeks ago when you left to find the cure for Seve’s poison? There are hardly any free mages left on the mainland. Vindha has enlisted them all in his mindless quest for world annihilation. If we are discovered, how would we explain the presence of a large number of mages not acting under Vindha’s orders?”
“We will pretend we are doing some work for him.”
Alicia shook her head. “A big party is more likely to get caught. No. I want to take just one more person. If two people are not enough to do this job then twenty or forty will not be enough. As Zima said, he is probably guarding that temple with an army.”
Zo bristled with annoyance. “We will take an army then.”
Alicia kept her cool. “That temple is
crucial to his success. As soon as he discovers that we are marching an army in its direction, he would turn his legions around and come fight us. That way we will lose the advantage of choosing the place for our final stand against him in battle. Since that might be the only advantage we have in this war, I would prefer to do this task with subterfuge and stealth. Direct force is not the answer here.”
Alicia could all but hear her twin grind her teeth in frustration. Zo’s accusing gaze went from person to person, seeking support—but none was forthcoming. Zo’s gaze settled on Arkon. Alicia gave the man credit; he didn’t even flinch at his fiancé’s reproachful glance.
Arkon put his hand on Zo’s arm. “You know Princess Alicia is right. This is war, and in war we all have to do what is sometimes dangerous and difficult. If we all seek to protect those whom we love the most, there would be no one left to fight the battles.”
Alicia’s admiration for the man shot up. Not only did he have the gumption to stand against her sister’s views, but he also knew how to use his words. Zo’s love for her siblings was only surpassed by her sense of duty towards the greater good.
For a moment, Zo was silent. “Fine, but I want you to take one of the two diaries with you, and keep Zima updated on your progress.”
The two diaries were twins of one another, and anything written in one showed up in the other. Zo had borrowed one from Zima during the last trip.
Zima snorted. “Trusting me suddenly, aren’t you?”
Zo wasn’t fazed. “I won’t be around to read it. Arkon and I are going to meet the resistance army. If they don’t join us, we won’t stand a chance. So you will have to keep in touch with Alicia through the diary.”
“One of those diaries is not with me. That thief, the mage that Vindha sent to kill Seve stole it.” Zima banged her fist on the table. “If I ever find that chit of a girl…”
Seve calmed her with a look. “We will get back that diary for you, Zima,” he said. “But first, let’s concentrate on the matter at hand. Someone needs to go with Alicia, and we need to decide on an emissary to send to the kings and queens of the free kingdoms across the mountain range.”
The Warrior Mage Page 2
