The Way of Ancient Power

by Ben Wolf

  A Coming of Age Fantasy Novel

  published by

  www.benwolf.com

  The Way of Ancient Power

  Book Two of the Call of Ancient Light Series

  Published by

  Splickety Publishing Group, Inc.

  www.splickety.com

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-942462-47-7

  Print ISBN: 978-1-942462-48-4

  Copyright © 2021 by Ben Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved.

  www.BenWolf.com

  Cover design by Hannah Sternjakob

  https://www.hannah-sternjakob-design.com

  Contact Ben Wolf directly at ben@benwolf.com for signed copies

  and to schedule author appearances and speaking events.

  All rights reserved. Non-commercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of the author, provided the text does not exceed 500 words. For longer quotations or commercial concerns, please contact the author via email at ben@benwolf.com.

  Commercial interests: No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only. Any similarities to individuals living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  To Carla Hoch:

  You are my favorite ginger.

  I hope this book has enough fight scenes for you.

  Also, you may be immortal (like every other ginger),

  But I’m still coming for you.

  Original Map of Kanarah

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Lumen’s eyes opened in the darkness.

  He could see them, feel them.

  They were much closer now.

  Three travelers had set out to discover the secret to release him, and two more had joined them. Two humans, a Saurian, a Windgale, and a Wolf.

  As the King had proclaimed nearly a thousand years earlier, Lumen would soon be set free.

  And when he was set free, he would save Kanarah.

  Chapter One

  Calum ducked under a blade and drove his fist into the bandit’s gut.

  A follow-up swipe with his red-bladed sword felled the bandit, then Calum whirled around to block an axe to keep it from cleaving him in half.

  The tip of Axel’s sword burst through the axe-wielding bandit’s chest from behind, and the bandit slumped to the ground atop his dead comrade.

  Beyond Axel, Magnus engaged ten—literally ten—of the bandits on his own, and he was winning too. Easily. Now a seven-and-a-half-foot Sobek, his dark green scales had hardened to the point where steel just glanced off his skin, and he only wore his Blood Ore armor over his chest and stomach.

  Magnus swung his matching Blood Ore sword in massive arcs at the men who encircled him. Though they timed their blocks and parries well, they simply couldn’t withstand his strength. Every blow sent shudders throughout their bodies, and in a matter of minutes, all ten of them lay the ground, slain.

  As he marveled at the sight, an arrow zipped by Calum’s ear, followed by a sound like a knife piercing an apple’s skin. A bandit face-planted next to him, his sword tumbling across the arid dirt that spread out for miles north and south of Trader’s Pass.

  “Watch your back.” Lilly swooped into view, still afloat on the air with an empty bow in her left hand. Her blonde hair shone under the afternoon sun, and her blue cape shimmered and billowed with the wind. A hint of teasing colored her words, and her half-smile and mischievous blue eyes added to the effect.

  Marveling at Magnus was great, but the big lizard had nothing on Lilly.

  “That’s what I have you for.” Calum drank her in. Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe her. Had they not been in a battle, Calum could have stared at her all—

  A brown and gray blur knocked him to the ground. Calum repositioned his sword to run the thing through, but it had already leaped off him.

  Its furry tail wagged as it pounced on an approaching bandit. A few ferocious tears and bites later, it turned back to Calum with lupine ears and keen blue eyes.

  “She just told you to watch it. Where’s your head?” Riley gave him a low growl. “You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

  “Sorry.” Calum pivoted and absorbed a hack from another bandit’s sword with his own. Before Calum could counterattack, an arrow lodged in the bandit’s neck, and he dropped. Calum glared at Lilly, who still hovered above him. “Hey! I had that one under control.”

  She just shrugged and winked at him, then she nocked another arrow.

  He smiled back until he noticed Axel’s steely dark-blue eyes and his sour expression. As quickly as their eyes had met, Axel refocused on the battle and downed the next bandit with one vicious swing. It reminded Calum how glad he was that he’d never be on the receiving end of one of Axel’s blows.

  Magnus roared and whirled around. His sword took out three more bandits in one swing, and his whiplash tail flattened another two.

  Riley knifed past another bandit, skidded to a halt, then sprang toward the bandit’s back. He caught the bandit’s collar in his teeth and slammed him to the ground. Another salvo of furious bites and tears at the bandit’s throat finished him off.

  Barely half a week had passed since their encounter with the Gronyxes in the underground tunnel from Kanarah City to Trader’s Pass, and already trouble had found them again. Sometimes Calum wondered if their troubles would ever end, if they’d never get a real rest.

  The constant trials and stress weighed on them all, but Calum kept reassuring himself it would all be worthwhile in the end. Freeing Lumen would transform Kanarah and everyone in it, and then all would be made right. The thought of it renewed Calum’s resolve, and he refocused on the battle—or what was left of it, anyway.

  Of the two-dozen bandits who’d initially confronted them, only three remained. Instead of surrounding Calum and the others, they were surrounded.

  Still, these men were rough grizzled types accustomed to the harsh life of scavenging for whatever they co
uld find, steal, or scrounge, either from travelers along Trader’s Pass or from the expansive wasteland that stretched out as far as they eye could see.

  They brandished their weapons and charged in three separate directions instead of as a group. Calum was still learning strategy from Magnus, but even he knew that was a huge tactical error. They felled the bandits with ease then stood in place and looked at each other.

  “Anyone hurt?” Magnus wiped the blood from his broadsword with one of the bandits’ shirts, then he sheathed it.

  “I’m good, thanks to Lilly and Riley.” Calum shook his head and did the same. He’d taken his red-bladed sword from a bandit in Eastern Kanarah named Tyburon. It had been his toughest one-on-one fight ever, so he’d kept the sword as a memento.

  It was also a lot better than his previous sword, which was nothing but a standard weapon issued to the King’s soldiers. By contrast, the red blade in his hand had a curve right at the end, near its tip, that made it especially good for slashing.

  And it looked awesome, too.

  “I’m fine.” Axel still wore the same frown as when Calum had last looked at him.

  “You sure?” Calum nodded to him and sheathed his sword. “You look frustrated.”

  “I said I’m fine,” Axel insisted, now scowling at Calum. “Just sick of the constant fighting.”

  Even as Axel said it, Calum knew it wasn’t the truth. If anything, the fighting was probably the only part of their journey along Trader’s Path that Axel did like.

  “At least you get to wear Magnus’s arm and leg guards.” Calum held out his arms, each with a different color and style of armor on them. Black gauntlets with steel studs in the knuckles covered his hands. “I’m still stuck with this mixed armor from the Southern Snake Brotherhood and the King’s soldiers.”

  “Yeah, but there’s no way you’d ever fit his armor. It barely fits me.” Axel tapped his blue forearms with his sword. “I’m just tall enough and big enough to make it work.”

  “Once you tightened the straps to their max.” Lilly landed beside Calum.

  “Armor’s overrated,” Riley said. “If you’re fast enough, you can avoid anything that comes at you.”

  “But if you don’t see the blow coming, armor could save your life.” Lilly re-tied her shoulder-length blonde ponytail behind her head then drummed her fingers along the pale pink armor covering her arms. “I’m fast too, but I’m keeping my armor on.”

  “This conversation is the very definition of frivolous.” Magnus turned his head west. “We need to cover far more ground before we camp for the night, so if you intend to talk, walk at the same time.”

  “Shouldn’t we search the bodies first?” Calum asked.

  “Yes.” Magnus’s golden Saurian eyes narrowed at him. “But make haste.”

  Three bodies in, Calum found a small lightweight sword not much bigger than a dagger. He pulled it out of its sheath, waved it around a bit, and then slid it back in. Nothing fancy, but it was well balanced and seemed durable enough.

  “Lilly?” he called.

  She hopped into the air and glided over to him. “Yeah?”

  He showed the sword to her. “Could you use this?”

  “I’ve mostly trained to use a bow and arrow. I don’t know as much about swordplay.” Lilly hooked the sheath to her belt and drew the blade. She met his gaze with a glint of mischief in her blue eyes. “But I’m willing to learn.”

  Calum matched her smile. It had taken him awhile to get used to her being anywhere close to him. Before the Gronyx fight, and even a little bit after that, he’d get nervous, jumble his words, and start sweating whenever she got too close.

  Now he could carry on a conversation with her—while still being nervous and sweating. Not much of an improvement, but an improvement all the same.

  “Magnus taught me,” he said. “I’m sure he’d be willing to teach you too.”

  Lilly tilted her head, sheathed the sword, then nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

  Her tone had flattened a bit, but Calum didn’t know why.

  Over her shoulder, Axel rolled his eyes.

  Did I miss something?

  “I’ll be more than happy to teach you to use it.” Axel cast a quick glance at Calum, then he put his gloved hand on Lilly’s armored shoulder. “I have a feeling you’ll get the hang of it quickly.”

  As the revelation of Calum’s ignorance dawned on him, he opened his mouth to protest, but Magnus spoke first.

  “Time to move on.” Magnus sniffed at the air and turned to Riley. “Do you smell that?”

  He growled. “Of course I smell it.”

  “What?” Calum glanced between them. “What do you smell?”

  “Dactyls.” Riley growled again.

  “What?” Axel asked.

  “Flying devils. Beasts with bat wings, eagles’ beaks, and bodies like humans.” Magnus shook his head. “Not something we wish to run into.”

  “Your skin’s as hard as stone, and you’re worried about flying monkeys?” Axel asked.

  Magnus leveled his gaze at Axel and clacked his claws on his breastplate. “Their beaks and talons can pierce Saurian skin and most armor. Only dragonscales and exceptionally rare types of metal can withstand their attacks. Unlike the sabertooth cats we faced before we found Lilly and Riley, Dactyls are intelligent, cunning hunters.”

  “We just took down two Gronyxes not even a week ago.” Axel pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Why should we be worried about these things?”

  “First, we barely survived that. If you recall, we lost Nicolai as a result,” Magnus said.

  “Not much of a loss, if you ask me,” Axel muttered.

  Calum whacked his shoulder for the comment, and Axel promptly whacked him back, much harder. Instead of retaliating at the sting in his arm, Calum just clenched his teeth and shook his head.

  Magnus eyed them both. “Second, these things can fly, they are impressively fast, and instead of two or three large ones, we would have to face dozens, or perhaps even hundreds of them. They attack in large groups.

  “They eat flesh, but they prefer bone marrow, and they will crack your bones open while you still live to get it. I have witnessed what they can do firsthand, so believe me when I say that it is essential to avoid them.”

  Riley scanned the path ahead. “I smelled ’em when I crossed to the human side six months ago, but I didn’t see any.”

  “So did I,” Magnus said. “They did not attack me, either. They are migratory, to some extent. With autumn setting in, they are likely heading south to roost.”

  “We didn’t run into any on my trip over with the slave traders either,” Lilly said.

  “How come we can’t smell them?” Calum asked.

  Riley raised on eyebrow. “Wolves, and to a lesser extent, Saurians, have an excellent sense of smell. Once we get a little closer, you’ll smell them too. It’s a scent you’ll never forget.”

  “Why would we go closer?” Lilly glanced between Magnus and Riley. “I mean, I know we have to head west to get back to the other side of Kanarah, but—”

  “They are coming toward us. I did not smell them when we started fighting the bandits, but now I do. That suggests they are headed our direction.” Magnus frowned.

  “They eat meat, right? Bone marrow?” Calum said. “Why don’t we fall back near where we came out of the underground passage? Maybe they’ll eat the bandits, and we’ll be free to pass when they aren’t hungry anymore.”

  Riley eyed Magnus. “That plan’s not half bad.”

  “Except we’d have to backtrack three—no, almost four—days and entirely erase our forward progress along the pass,” Axel said.

  “Oh. Yeah. Not such a great plan after all.” Riley frowned up at Calum. “No offense.”

  Calum shrugged. “Takes a lot more than that to offend me.”

  “Well, I’ll keep trying, then,” Riley replied.

  Calum started to ask if he was being serious, but as bef
ore, Magnus spoke first.

  “Worse yet, we would likely run out of food in the process, and Commander Anigo made it clear we were not to return to Kanarah City, or to Eastern Kanarah at all. We do not know how long it will take them to get here, if they even show up at all, and we also do not know if the bandits will satisfy them. If it is a larger flock, then it might all be for naught.”

  “You mean the puppy’s nose can’t tell us everything we need to know?” Axel quipped. “You made it sound like your snout was all-knowing.”

  “I told you not to call me that anymore.” Riley growled and bared his teeth.

  Axel held up his hands in mock surrender. “Just contributing to the conversation. Not that anyone cares about my opinion anyway.”

  “Cut it out, Axel,” Calum said. “He hasn’t done anything to you.”

  “In any case,” Magnus cut in, “we cannot afford to linger here or anywhere else. We barely have enough food to make it to the other side with rationing, as it is. Backtracking now would hamstring us.”

  “But if we move forward, we risk having to face those things, and you said yourself that it’s not something we want to do.” Calum glanced between the four members of his group. “I say we fall back and hide, let them eat their fill, and then move forward once they’re gone.”