A Shadow Flame (Book 7)

by Jordan Baker

  "Really, Toren," Elaine said, and the Aghlar burst into laughter. "Carlis has been truly miserable, and he is doing his best to live down to your silly Aghlar standards of what makes a man."

  "Your taunts aside, I know he has been trying very hard, Elaine," Toren said. "And I really couldn't bear to see him suffer any longer."

  "After being amused by it all this time," she said.

  "A little, perhaps."

  "Lovely, Toren," Elaine said, almost as briskly as Carlis, then she turned and walked way.

  "Come, Elaine," Toren called after her. "Please, do not be upset over a little harmless amusement."

  She caught up to Carlis, and heard him muttering under his breath, which smelled of mint and spice, even despite the high winds that gusted all around them.

  "Toren can be a bit boorish, at times," she said as they walked out onto the swaying docks toward the ship.

  "I know, that's just Toren," Carlis said with a shrug. "If I hadn't been so miserable, I might have even found it amusing. But at least he gave me this bottle. I do feel refreshed."

  "You smell rather fresh," Elaine commented. "I might suggest that you keep a steady supply of it, even when you are not feeling ill."

  "Are you trying to tell me something?" Carlis asked, as they walked up the gangplank to the ship.

  "No, not really," she said. "You keep yourself well groomed, Carlis, but there are times, especially when you indulge in your penchant for cured meats, when that little bottle might prove somewhat useful."

  "I wonder how difficult it would be to make this in large quantities." Carlis stopped on the deck of the ship and looked at the tiny bottle.

  "You mean to sell it in the markets?" Elaine suggested.

  "Of course," Carlis said, cracking the first smile Elaine had seen on his face in some time. "If people knew the value of it, then they might be willing to part with a coin or two, to acquire a little bottle like this."

  "It will be something to consider once we have regained our position," Elaine commented. "I am both curious and dreading to see what Cerric and that Xallan woman have done to our home, though I suppose we will soon find out."

  "I would rather you stayed here at Aghlar, Elaine," Carlis told her. "I do not know what we will face at Maramyr, but I have no doubt that it will be dangerous and I would rather not see you in harm's way."

  "Don't be ridiculous," Elaine said. "You are no more a warrior than I, and I will see our home restored. Once we succeed in removing Calexis from the throne, and I mean the people with swords, then there will be much work to do, and you will need me there."

  "If we succeed," Carlis said. "The stories I have heard from the few travelers and traders who have passed by Maramyr are disturbing, to say the least. This will undoubtedly be a dangerous battle, and victory is most certainly not assured."

  "Nothing ever is, I have learned," Elaine said. "That does not mean we should not hope and plan for victory."

  "That much is true," Carlis conceded, then he turned as Sten approached them.

  "Cap'n!" the man said, then he nodded to Elaine. "The ship's provisioned and ready, but the crew's wonderin' how we're to sail from port in these winds."

  "I am somewhat curious about that myself," Carlis admitted. "I suspect there may be some sort of magic involved, so be ready to cast off the lines when the Al'Dea fires her cannon."

  "Aye Cap'n!" Sten replied, and scampered off across the deck, relaying Carlis' orders, and talk of magic began making its way through the crew.

  Carlis and Elaine made their way across the rolling deck of the ship to the quarterdeck and it was not long before a single cannon shot was heard, along with a puff of smoke from Toren's ship. The crews of the Aghlar ships waited nervously, holding the last few lines that secured them safely within the harbor, and within a few moments they felt the ropes begin to pull as the ships began to move as though on their own. They cast off the lines and the ships of Aghlar made their way from the harbor. Strangely, despite blasting winds that became even more relentless and tall waves that crashed all around, the ships moved smoothly upon a kind of channel in between them, steady as if they were sailing upon calm seas.

  Once they were out upon the open sea, the Aghlar fleet approached the motley collection of ships, their black flags snapping in the wind and their rigging bare, and Toren's ship, the Al'Dea was positioned in the lead, parallel to the small ship that had entered the harbor. Standing high atop the mast, Carly raised her arms and with her power she cleared a path through the waves, then she closed her eyes and the sea began to heave, dropping slowly then rising again. Voices shouted from the Aghlar ships as an enormous wave rose behind them, then the two fleets began to move, and the wave followed them, pushing the ships eastward.

  "Such power," Carlis marveled, taking another sip from the bottle that Toren had given him. "It is possible that this woman truly is the goddess of the sea."

  "If she is who she claims to be, then it is very strange to meet her," Elaine said with a perplexed look on her face. "If she truly is the goddess, Mara, then that would make her my great grandmother, many generations past."

  "Your grandmother?"

  "You did know, Carlis, that all five of the royal lines of Maramyr are descendants of Mara."

  "Well, I thought that to be little more than a legend," Carlis said.

  "As much a legend as the gods themselves have long been thought to be," Elaine replied.

  *****

  The air was heavy and oppressive throughout the city of Maramyr, with dark clouds hanging overhead and blocking the light of day, so much so that it almost seemed like night, and the dull clamor of countless scales and claws upon stone and the scratching of sharpened steel and armor filled the courtyard as Calexis emerged from the palace. Several steps behind her, Aaron struggled to keep his thoughts clear as the shadow within him cast a fog over his mind and compelled him forward, following the dark queen. Calexis stopped at the top of the steps, then she turned and glanced back at him, a hint of a smile curling at the corner of her mouth as she felt him struggle against her power. Aaron felt the shadow grip him tighter as he dropped to one knee beside her, his head bowed like an ornamental sentry. Calexis placed her hand upon his head, her pointed nails scraping his scalp for a moment, as though he was some sort of pet upon which she was bestowing a moment of affection.

  Aaron did his best to ignore her as he focused his thoughts, using the little bit of power that remained in his control, and he felt the subtle shifts in the city as the mages worked to undermine the spell of the crystals in the city. Thus far, their efforts remained undetected by the power of the shadow and the dark queen, and Aaron hoped they would complete their task soon, for he knew he could not hold out much longer. The more they altered the spell, the greater was the chance that Calexis would notice, but for now, her focus was elsewhere, on the hundreds of creatures that had gathered in the palace yard, which was now teeming with Darga, many of them changed in shape and size, some of them so large and powerful that they had almost become dragons, while others, who had not yet laid hands on a jeweled blade were assembled like so many foot soldiers. With such numbers and varieties of ability, the Darga were an army unto themselves, for even the weakest among them possessed the strength of ten Maramyrian or Xallan soldiers, both of which were now in somewhat short supply, except for the grey soldiers that Calexis had spread through the palace and the city, keeping close watch over the docile, ensorcelled people and often tormenting them for their own amusement. Unfortunately, the Darga were even more unruly than the grey soldiers, but thus far Calexis did not seem to care much what happened in the city, so long as they kept the killing to a minimum.

  One of the large, winged Darga leapt from the wall at the palace gate and landed heavily on the steps, then strode up toward Calexis, his jeweled blade hanging from a crude leather strap at his hip, the sword looking like little more than a dagger in comparison to his size.

  "Calexis," he hissed. "We have come for what y
ou promised."

  "You come for a reward?" Calexis smiled at him. "Yet you have failed in your task."

  "We killed the elves and spread the poison in the trees."

  "Did you kill all the elves?" she asked.

  "We killed many."

  "You were told to kill them all, every last one," Calexis said her voice echoing across the courtyard, her tone turning angry. "That was your task, which you failed, and now you have the temerity to return here, expecting that I would applaud your failure?"

  "We followed Draxis until the dragons came. You did not tell us there would be dragons."

  "And what are you?" Calexis walked down a few steps toward the Darga. "Are you not almost a dragon? Have I not given you power, with the gift of these swords?"

  "Yes, we have become powerful, but there are some that have lost themselves in the power. It is the old curse of madness."

  "It shows you are weak," Calexis said, walking a few more steps, almost to where the Darga stood, irritated that they would know of the curse that afflicted dragons. "And you are cowardly, to run from the battle. How many are you? And yet you could not handle a few dragons?"

  "Darga are not cowards," he growled, and his guttural voice was echoed by the others, the anger emanating from him in threatening waves of aggression. "We followed Draxis and did what you asked. Now you will give us what you promised or we will take it from you."

  Calexis looked out over the sea of reptilian flesh congregated throughout the courtyard and perched upon the high palace walls and she smiled, her pointed teeth glinting cruelly behind her red lips. She shook her head and began to laugh, then she stopped and looked at the Darga.

  "Draxis is dead," she said, her tone becoming implacable and echoing with power. "You are the leader of the Darga now, and you have failed. Why would I reward those who fail me?"

  "We killed many elves," the creature growled, determined not to be cowed by the Xallan queen.

  "You did not kill them all," Calexis growled back. "Every last one of them must die. That was my command, and you have the nerve to come here, fleeing the battle. It is clear to me that you are not a leader."

  As she spoke, Calexis became larger than she had been, looming over the Darga and she swung her hand at him, smashing the side of his scaled, reptilian face. The force of the blow was like a thunderclap and the powerful creature was sent flying, leaving a spattered trail of black blood upon the stone steps. He barely had time to lift his head when Calexis was upon him, her form shifting to dark smoke as she blurred toward him, her closed fist smashing the top of his head directly into the stone, cracking the hard scales and bone of his skull.

  The Darga roared and shifted as the dark queen hit the creature again and again, but they did not move. Black blood sprayed across the steps and spattered Calexis' skin until she finally stopped, then she drew the sword from the belt at the creature's waist and drove it into his broken skull. She trembled for a moment as the life energy of the Darga flowed into her, power the creature had taken from so many elves it had killed, then she turned and looked at the assembled Darga, her eyes dark and menacing.

  "I am your leader now," Calexis said as she stepped away from the fallen Darga. "Unless one of you wishes to challenge me, then you will do as I command."

  "As you command," growled one of the Darga, another who had grown powerful but had the wisdom to drop to one knee and bow his head. "We will serve."

  "Good," Calexis said, her mood suddenly relaxed.

  "What of the madness, my queen?" the kneeling Darga asked, his eyes narrowed, as though trying to focus his thoughts. "Many among us do not wish to use these swords. They bring the madness."

  "Yes, yes, the dragon curse," Calexis said with an irritated sigh. "Do not be concerned. There is a power that will stop the madness, and if you do as I command, I will lift the curse, and you can become truly powerful."

  "Then we serve gladly," the Darga growled enthusiastically.

  "Excellent," Calexis replied.

  "What is your command?" The Darga kept his head bowed. "Do you wish us to return to the forest of the elves?"

  Calexis shrugged.

  "No, that can wait" she said. "There are others coming, and they will arrive here soon."

  "Then we wait upon your command," the Darga said, then he shifted nervously. "Is there food to eat in the city, highness? Many Darga hunger for meat."

  "Take what you will from the city this day. That will be your reward for killing a few elves," Calexis told him, then she turned and walked back up the steps.

  The Darga rose to his feet and grinned as the reptilian crowd growled and roared, and the creatures turned and left the courtyard, bounding out past the palace walls. Calexis watched them leave, and within moments, screams echoed from the city, followed by raucous bellows as the creatures tore through the streets of Maramyr. With a pointed fingernail, she gestured for Aaron to rise and he followed her back into the palace, silently as she laughed at the madness in the city and the weak resistance she felt from the young man who struggled in the grip of her power.

  As useless as she knew his resistance was, it both irritated and amused her that the young man would continue to defy her, though the resistance of the Darga to her power far more bothersome. Deep within her memories, she knew of the dragon gift, the power to command the allegiance of such creatures, but despite all that she had taken from the young dragon prince, Elric, it remained a power that she lacked. Luckily, the Darga had developed a culture of leaders, and by besting their strongest, she had become their ruler, but they were still not truly subject to her will, and that was unacceptable. Annoyed with the Darga, and now losing patience with Aaron's quiet defiance, Calexis cuffed him in the back of the head, sending him tumbling face first to the polished stone floor inside the palace, and as he tried to rise, she shoved him forward again, this time with her heel.

  "Crawl, on your knees," she said as Aaron lifted his face from the floor.

  *****

  Under the ominous skies that hung silently over the city, the three mages worked quietly, carefully using their power to alter the magic of the crystals, redoubling their efforts at the sight of the rampaging Darga, and trying not to despair at the sounds of suffering that filled the air, for there was little doubt among them that time was growing short, were they to have any chance of saving anyone at all. And in the distant horizon, the skies were darker still, and what little light that passed for day began to fade into darkness.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The great falls of Rivergate that plunged from the high mountain cliffs loomed up toward the starry night sky overhead as the Maramyrian soldiers filed silently into the dark tunnels. The rushing sound of the waterfall covered the clank of metal and the creak of leather and, with the dragons to guide them in the dark, several hundred, led by Kaleb, made their way from the edge of the forest, then up through the stone passage that led to the city atop the cliffs. The larger force, under Nathas' command, waited in the trees at the base of the stone steps that led up the cliff itself, ready to ascend, with shields at the front of their ranks, prepared for whatever the enemy might throw at them. Once everyone was in position, Storm, and the three young dragons, with Keira and Margo mounted on two of them, flew out over the forest, then up over the cliffs and perched themselves on the mountain ridges above the city, awaiting the signal to attack.

  With Ariana atop Borrican's powerful shoulders, he flew as quietly as he could, approaching the city from the east, using the dark, rocky cliffs to obscure his passage, his black scales a shadow against the stars. The guards that stood at the gates and upon the walls only heard a gust of wind as he passed silently overhead, and he flew onward, over the city, toward an inn with a trail of smoke coming from its chimney. Borrican flared his wings, coming almost to a stop, then he shifted his form and the both of them dropped to the ground in the dark stable yard. Horses neighed and stamped at the strange sound but Borrican was careful to silence his predatory dragon thoughts, an
d within a few moments the beasts were calm once more. With the hoods of their cloaks pulled low around their faces, they walked around to the front of the inn and pushed open the door.

  Inside, the tavern was dark, with only a few patrons, sitting quietly in dark corners. Standing at the end of the bar was a guard, whose pale eyes stared at Ariana and Borrican as they walked over to a table and sat down. A few moments later, a woman who Ariana recognized appeared from the kitchen, carrying a plate of food and a mug of ale, which she delivered to a patron at one of the tables. Noticing the new arrivals, she walked over to where they sat, their faces turned away from the glow of an oil lamp that hung nearby, and instead of the lively greeting that Ariana remembered, Milli simply sighed and stared straight ahead when she spoke.

  "It's a might bit late," she said, repeating words she had said countless times before. "Will you be eatin' or drinkin' or both? I suppose you would like a room as well."

  "I am Edward, and this is my wife, Katie," Borrican said, giving the woman the names Ariana had told him. "Is it true that you run a discreet business?"

  Milli looked confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up with excitement. She leaned forward and took a closer look at Borrican, and her face fell with disappointment when she found that she did not recognize him.

  "Is there something wrong?" Borrican asked.

  "No, no," Milli said glumly. "I thought you was someone else, is all."

  "Who might you think we would be?" Ariana asked, leaning forward, looking up at the innkeeper from underneath the hood of her cloak.

  Milli's eyes went wide, and she smiled but she quickly dropped her grin when Ariana put her fingers to her lips.

  "I run a very discreet establishment," she said, doing her best to hide her excitement. "And it isn't easy with them foul soldiers everywhere, stinkin' up the place, at the bar, at the top of the stairs, and even one in the cellar, if you can believe that."