Aparen nodded hesitantly. “I understand. How do I get there from here?”
Njar stepped toward Aparen and put a hand upon his shoulder. “If you are ready to go now, then I can send you through a portal.”
The young wizard looked into Njar’s golden eyes and placed his right hand upon Njar’s left shoulder. “I will do what I can to restore balance.”
Njar leaned in, placing his forehead on Aparen’s. “May you have success, and find balance and peace for your own soul as you seek to restore balance to the Middle Kingdom.”
Njar pushed Aparen away. In his left hand appeared his staff out of thin air. Njar tapped the staff on the floor three times. On the ground appeared a red circle. The circle expanded, humming and crackling as it moved across the floor, until it reached the size of a well. A column of yellow light rose up from the floor, stretching toward the ceiling. The yellow light hummed as it waived and danced before them. Njar then tipped the head of his staff to the column of light and a clap of thunder shook the room. Aparen could see the city of Pinkt’Hu through the column of light. A small hole appeared in the center of the column of light, roughly at the level of Aparen’s head. The hole expanded, creating a large window that opened up onto the street near the dock of Pinkt’Hu. Aparen did not need to be told what to do. He took in a deep breath of courage, and stepped through the portal.
The wind rushed around him, both sucking him in and pushing against him as he passed through the portal. He could feel the cool air upon his skin as he stepped out of the portal. His skin felt the rain dropping from the sky and his nose smelled the scent of freshly wet stone and earth. He saw a score of people standing in the street. They looked at him, but they did not react immediately. The expressions on their faces were blank. They looked as though they were nothing more than shells of people. There was no anger, there was no fear, there was nothing. Aparen felt pity for these men from the depths of his soul, but he did not let that stop him in his mission.
Aparen considered for a moment as he took in his surroundings, and decided the best way to destroy the city would be in his shadowfiend form. He unleashed his power, transforming into the hideous, spiked monster that lusted for blood and power. Only this time, he felt much more control over the desires and the lusts that the beast created within him. Now he was the master, even in this form.
He spread his wings and flew into the air, raining fireballs from his hands and the sky. Out from his mouth issued a vapor of mist that poisoned and gagged all who were unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake. He then sent a fireball down to ignite the vapor. With a frightening whoosh, the flames roared up into the sky, ripping through flesh, objects and buildings alike.
The young wizard was startled by the lack of screams or shouts as his fire tore through the city. It seemed that not only did these zombies have no control over their willpower, they either felt no pain or their souls were already dead.
Soon arrows fired up toward him. Aparen could not know whether the zombies were defending themselves of their own choice, or whether Tu’luh had somehow commanded them to attack. Either way, it made little difference. Aparen created a shield around himself, vaporizing any arrow or missile that sailed toward him. In addition to the fires, he brought tornadoes from the East and cyclones from the West. The ships in the harbor cracked and began to sink while the city walls and the buildings within crumbled and were thrown into each other. Never before had Aparen felt such tremendous power. He felt unstoppable. Invincible. Now he had everything he had sought. He had the power to finally crush Erik. Still, he had made a wizard’s oath, and he knew he couldn’t do that.
Within minutes, all of Pinkt’Hu was ablaze. Aparen had destroyed everything within the city as well as anything within a four mile radius before the day was done. The fires rose high into the sky and the ash and smoke darkened the sun creating a night before the sunset. When it was finished, Aparen sat upon the mountain, the same mountain that held the orcish fortress within, and watched the burning fires. He wasn’t sure what to feel, or what to think. He just watched the rising flames and let himself be lost in the pink and red firestorms.
He didn’t expect Njar to appear next to him at that time, and startled when the satyr walked through a portal as calm and confident as he ever was.
“Your power is tremendous,” Njar said, observing the scene below them. “It is far beyond even what I thought it could be.”
“I have more still to use,” Aparen said. “There is more to me now than fire or monster.”
The satyr nodded knowingly. He pointed to Aparen’s chest and tapped lightly on it. “There is one more thing that you should know.”
“What else could there be?” Aparen sighed. He looked down to the ground and then up to the flames of the city far beyond the mountain.
“Have you heard of the Sahale?” Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “It is a kind of half breed. A mix of a dragon and a human.” Njar tore his gaze away from the burning city to regard Aparen. “Erik is one of them. This is what grants him immunity from Nagar’s Secret.”
“Why find me to tell me this?” Aparen asked.
Njar fumbled for words. He cleared his throat and looked back to the burning city. “You have an affinity for fire spells, it would seem.”
“Don’t try to change the subject, tell me what is going on,” Aparen demanded.
Njar looked to the ground and sighed. “You are a Sahale, Aparen.”
“What?” Aparen asked incredulously. “Why do you wait until now to tell me?”
“Let me explain,” Njar said as he patted the air. “I wasn’t sure your gift was intact. You see, this is something that is passed down in the blood from parent to child. Neither Lady Cedreau, nor Lord Cedreau held this gift, but now that you know you are not, in fact, their child, you should also know that Lady Lokton is also a Sahale.”
Aparen shook his head. “No, if she was a Sahale, then why wouldn’t she use it to protect her home?”
“The blood of the Sahale does provide some protection from Nagar’s Secret, but it is dependent upon the purity of the Sahale blood within a person as well as their natural disposition. Some would say all Sahale are immune, but that is not entirely accurate. More to the point, Lady Lokton has a latent gift. It sometimes happens that the blood can be diluted to the point that the gift fails to manifest, or can skip a generation before reappearing. I doubt she actually can use the ability.”
“But mine is stronger?”
Njar nodded. “Like I said, it can skip a generation sometimes and reappear stronger in the offspring than in the parent. Such is your situation, except you were put into Lady Cedreau’s womb. Her blood mixed with yours before you were born. Normally this gift manifests itself on an individual’s seventeenth birthday. I assume that your gift was delayed due to the magic which was used to manipulate your future when the witch coven stole you from your rightful mother, and placed you in Lady Cedreau’s womb.”
“Are you saying I can’t use my gift?” Aparen asked.
Njar shook his head. “I spent the last several weeks working on this riddle whenever I had a moment to myself. I think I have figured it out, but I didn’t bring it up before because I didn’t want to disappoint you. I am still not sure it will work. That is why Dremathor traded his powers to Gilifan for immunity from Nagar’s spell, I don’t know if your Sahale blood is pure enough to provide resistance to the curse once you take the form of a dragon.”
“Then why tell me now?” Aparen pressed.
Njar closed his eyes for a moment and then he looked up into Aparen’s eager eyes. “Because I have seen a future that shows you fighting Tu’luh directly. If you are to survive, even with your magical powers, you must be able to unlock it.”
“How do I do that?”
Njar stretched out a thumb and pressed it to Aparen’s forehead. The image of a bright, blue rune burned into the young wizard’s mind. “Do you know what this is?” the satyr asked.
“N
o,” Aparen replied.
Njar’s voice turned cold. “Use your brain, boy,” he chided. “Reach into all of your knowledge.”
Aparen thought on the rune for several minutes. Something in his mind pulled at him, as if somewhere in the corners of his consciousness there was a key to the riddle. Aparen let himself entertain the thought, and a vision—no, a memory—opened up in his mind. In the memory, Dremathor was studying an ancient tome on dragons that spoke extensively about the Sahale. At once he had access to the knowledge learned from that book and he knew what the rune meant.
“I see it now,” Aparen said. As he pictured the rune in his mind he could feel a fire burning within his chest.
“Continue to meditate upon this rune. Use your added knowledge to help you unlock its power. It is the key to your transformation. You will find that your strength as a dragon will far outperform your prowess as a shadowfiend.
Njar pulled his thumb away from Aparen’s head and smiled at the young wizard. “I know this is a great and terrible thing that you have done here in the city, but you need to understand that it was for the best. We seek balance, Aparen. That is all we can do. Tu’luh seeks to destroy that balance. I have seen him. I beheld a great vision while you were here, and it showed me terrible things. The dragon has gone to Ten Forts and gathered a massive army unto himself that is like none other before. The living orcs he subjugated with the curse, while the dead orcs he raised using the necromancer’s power.” Njar looked to the ground, shaking his head. “Worse still, he raised the human dead, and they now serve in his army as well. They will march north, and they will destroy the army at Stonebrook. If Stonebrook falls, the Champion of Truth will not have enough time to return and fight. You must do everything you can to hold the dragon’s army off.”
“Are you saying that I should fight the army alone?”
“Of course not,” Njar said.
“You want me to go back to Stonebrook and ask them to trust me?”
Njar nodded. “The only way this will work, is if you fight alongside the armies of King Mathias.” Njar moved back toward the portal. “This is not a fight I can enter. This is a battle you must wage. Do not be afraid to search for, and unlock, your potential as a Sahale. The champion will be here soon, all you must do is hold the enemy army at bay.”
“If the dragon can raise the dead, then how do I destroy his army?”
“You can’t,” Njar said. “The best you can do is hold them in place. Force the dragon to stop pressing forward and raise his army. This may mean that you have to fight to him yourself, but don’t allow yourself to be killed. Engage enough to slow him, and then disengage. Keep the dragon far enough away that he cannot use his spell to conquer the living. Let Mathias’ army fight the dragon’s army.” Njar stepped into the portal and the portal vanished.
Aparen sat still upon the mountainside watching the fires in the distance. A few moments passed and then he began meditating upon the rune again, hoping to find the answer to unlocking his potential as a Sahale. In the morning, he would travel to Stonebrook and find the king’s army.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lepkin sat out on the terrace. He watched the sunrise in the East. He raised a glass of mulled wine to his lips and sipped it slowly. Lady Dimwater was still fast asleep after a long night of nursing their newborn. Master Lepkin had come to get some fresh air before the battle would start. His scouts had seen the signs of orcs sending smaller patrols to the north. None had gone so far as to reach the chasm where the brook was, but a few had gone beyond the burned forest. Lepkin knew the battle would not be far off. Perhaps a few days at most. While the main orcish army marched its way north, Commander Nials had the men preparing the field as best he could. With the reinforcements they had received they had decided to make a stand.
The snows had stopped falling some weeks ago and the winter was beginning to subside, giving way to an early spring. The ground was still frozen solid however, and the nights were still far too cold to travel openly. Still, Lepkin had sent the rest of Stonebrook’s citizens north out of harm’s way.
He had hardly seen Al over the last several days. The dwarf king was far too busy organizing his own soldiers. Marlin was busy too. He spent his time tending the wounded. A Hospital had been set up in a large manor. In the evenings, Marlin would return to Tillamon’s house and help with Lady Dimwater and the newborn if he had enough energy. Lady Arkyn was out commanding the scouts as they hunted for orcs.
Lepkin watched a regiment of phalanx troops practice in the field beyond Tillamon’s house. When he finished his wine, he rose to go into the house, but he was stopped by a sudden shout. He looked out to where the phalanx troops were practicing and saw that they had circled around something. He set the empty glass on the table, situated his sword on his belt, and ran out in a controlled fashion to see what the matter was.
When he arrived he saw a young man standing in the middle of the phalanx troops. Spears were leveled at his throat and chest, but he made no move to attack or to speak. Lepkin could not see the young man’s face, as his back was turned toward Lepkin. When Lepkin pushed through the throng, telling them to stand down, he was surprised when he saw young Eldrik Cedreau standing there before him.
“Eldrik Cedreau, what brings you here?” Lepkin asked.
“I have come with a message, a gift, and help.” The man stopped and smiled slightly. He looked at Lepkin, and Master Lepkin saw a confidence that he had never before seen in the young man’s eyes. “My name is Aparen now,” he added.
“Very well, Aparen, what is it you brought for us?”
“I have the book that you lost, Keeper of Secrets.” Aparen pulled Nagar’s Secret out from a small pouch at his belt and offered it to Lepkin.
Lepkin glanced around at the others before his eyes settled on Aparen. How had he found the book? More importantly, what was the price for which he was really offering it back now? Lepkin pulled a dagger and moved in quick, his left hand reaching out and seizing Aparen’s wrist.
“Drop the book, and come with me.”
Aparen smiled. “Dear Lepkin, I come with an offering of peace.”
“Then drop it,” Lepkin snarled. He pressed the blade to Aparen’s skin and glared into the young man’s eyes. “I will end you if you try anything.” Without breaking his gaze, Lepkin called out to the soldiers around him. “Triple the guard, now!” The phalanx troops immediately broke into several groups amidst shouts and stomping boots.
“A blade is of little use against me,” Aparen warned. “Put it aside.”
Aparen’s calmness unnerved Lepkin, but he was not about to let that show. He had known the boy as an Apprentice of the Sword, but he obviously had some sort of magic power now, otherwise he could not have teleported into the field amidst the soldiers. “I think you would find it hard to use magic if I slit your throat.”
“I mean you no harm,” Aparen assured him. “Remove the knife.”
“How did you come by the book?”
“I found this yesterday in a cavern. A mountain near Pinkt’Hu had swallowed an old orcish fortress, and deep inside that fortress I found an altar that Gilifan used to resurrect Tu’luh the Red.”
“And how did you get the book?” Lepkin asked. “How can I know that you are not in league with the dragon?”
“Dear Lepkin, if I were, what good would it serve to give you the book now?” Aparen dropped the book at Lepkin’s feet. “I come to you with an offering of peace. I show you that I have destroyed an army the dragon was raising against you. Don’t you understand? Gilifan resurrected the dragon. They used Nagar’s Secret. They turned thousands into their mindless soldiers. Thousands more they raised from the dead as zombies, and I destroyed them. The dragon has now moved south, to Ten Forts. He is using his magic to build another army against you. This is an army unlike any other you have ever faced. There will be orcs and humans fighting alongside each other. Those who have not been turned to living slaves by the dragon will be raised as zom
bies. Is your army prepared to fight monsters that look the same as their comrades before they died?”
“How can you be sure of this?”
“I have spent a great long while studying the ways of magic. I have no way to prove to you that what I say is true other than to give you the book. I can say that I am on your side. I do not want Tu’luh to enslave the Middle Kingdom any more than you do. I am here to fight the dragon.”
“How can you possibly expect to fight the dragon? And how can I believe that Tu’luh has been raised from the dead?”
“Let me go, and I will show you,” Aparen offered.
Lepkin shook his head. “No, you will show us.” He moved around Aparen, still holding his knife in place on the young man’s neck. He slipped the toe of his boot under the large book and flicked the book up to his left hand. He slammed it into the young man’s stomach. “Hold this with both hands,” he said. Lepkin then urged him forward. “Let’s go and have a talk with someone else. Remember, if you try anything, I will slit your throat.”
They got as far as the table where Lepkin had been sipping his wine before Dimwater and Marlin emerged from the manor.
“Some of the men told me what happened,” Marlin said.
“Read him,” Lepkin told Marlin. “Do it now.”
Marlin took one look at Aparen and then nodded and made a gesture with his hand for Lepkin to move the knife away. “I see no deceit in him.”
“Are you sure?” Lepkin pressed.
Marlin nodded. “He is strong, and has far more power than I would expect for someone of his age, but he is no threat.”
“That isn’t entirely accurate,” Lady Dimwater said suddenly. She moved in close and smelled the side of Aparen’s neck. “You are a shadowfiend, I can smell it.”
“And you have demon blood running through you,” Aparen countered. “Does that make you an enemy?”
Return of the Dragon (The Dragon's Champion Book 6) Page 24
