by Dean Cadman
“Beggin’ ya pardon, sir, but me an’ Dhorn ’ere wanted t’ thank ya for what ya did for us today. We both thought we’d b’ sleeping in the presence of Deas tonight, we did,” one of the men said, with his head still bowed.
Lusam didn’t really know what to say to the two men, so he decided to try and make light of it. He slapped them both on the shoulder, making them visibly flinch, then said, “You’re both welcome. Besides, I can’t let any of you die, or else how would I ever find my island?” The two men looked at each other puzzled, then at Lusam, and when they noticed him smiling they both visibly relaxed. The man who had just spoken smiled back at him with a toothy grin.
“Aye, sir, thank ya, sir,” he said, bowing his head a little.
“We’ll be findin’ that island for ya, sir, don’t ya worry ’bout that,” the other man said, backing away slightly so that Lusam and Neala could pass by.
Lusam nodded to them both. “Then that’s all the thanks I’ll need,” he said smiling, as he and Neala continued on their way.
Once they’d climbed the wooden ladder onto the aft deck, Lusam activated the enchantment that he’d placed on the barrels of copper nails, and an invisible lattice of power sprung into existence between the four barrels, creating a magical net-like hammock. He fell flamboyantly backwards onto his invisible creation and sighed loudly as if to emphasise how comfortable it was. Neala rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.
“What?” he asked, innocently, then jokingly added, “You can always sleep on the deck if you’d prefer.” The look that she gave him told him exactly who would be sleeping on the deck if he persisted any further. Then without another word she mimicked his own actions and fell backwards onto the magical hammock next to him, letting out a small sigh of her own. Neither of them spoke for a long time, simply content to watch the clouds race by in the darkening sky above. It was Neala who eventually broke the long silence between them.
“Do you think we’ll find it?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“What, the island or… the other thing?” Lusam replied, still not wanting to openly discuss the Guardian book.
“Either… or both, I guess.”
Lusam thought for a moment, then replied cryptically, “The person who sent us on this mission believes that we will, and I have no reason to doubt them.” Neala didn’t reply, but he saw her nod out of the corner of his eye. He’d noticed that she had been a little subdued ever since leaving The Dark Forest, and it had become even more obvious to him over recent days. He hadn’t been overly concerned at first, putting her reluctance to strike up a conversation down the fact that she’d always hated levitating, and how it often took her some time to recover afterwards. Later, he had blamed the fact that they’d agreed not to openly discuss their mission, because of the risks of being overhead by Aamon. But more recently, even when he had openly teased her about something or other, she had been far from her usual buoyant self, choosing to ignore his playful comments and barbs rather than react to them as she would normally do. And over the past few days, she had barely spoken a word unless he or someone else had spoken to her first. It just wasn’t like her, and he was starting to become a little concerned about it.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s been on your mind lately?” he asked, without preamble.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve not quite been yourself since we first set off on this trip, but over the past few days you’ve barely spoken to me, or anyone else for that matter. There’s obviously something on your mind, and I think we should talk about it,” Lusam said, rolling over to face her and propping himself up on his elbows. Neala continued to stare up at the darkening sky above, and after almost a minute of silence, Lusam began to wonder if she would reply at all. But then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“I’m scared, Lusam,” she replied, in a half-whisper.
“Scared? Scared of what?”
Neala let out a strange sound, something halfway between a laugh and a groan of pain. “Everything… I’m scared of everything, Lusam. I’m scared that we won’t find what we’re looking for. I’m scared that even if we do, it will already be too late. I’m scared for the people we left behind at The Rift—Alexia, Renn, Hershel and all the other paladins there. But most of all, I’m scared that even if we do everything right, find what we need, and get back to The Rift in time, we still won’t be able to stop Aamon escaping from the Netherworld and destroying everything and everyone we know.”
Lusam was taken aback by her words. He had no idea that she had been bottling up such intense feelings, and felt guilty for not asking her about it sooner. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, kissing her gently on the forehead. “Don’t worry, we’ve survived worse. And we’ll survive this too,” he said, trying to at least sound confident, even if he didn’t feel it.
Neala let out another strained laugh. “I’m not scared of dying, Lusam. It’s just that I’d like to live a little first… with you,” she replied, burying her head into his shoulder and letting her pent-up tears run free.
Chapter Fifteen
“They’re here,” Cole said, peering through the kitchen window. A large group of men, maybe sixty strong, walked confidently down the dusty road towards the house. Their leader, Draek, walked in front of the others with a confident swagger, laughing and joking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Cole had been given only one task, and that was to remove any silence spell placed on Zedd by Draek, or any of his men. Even though Cole’s secret link to Zedd’s mind was still active, he suggested that he should create a new link anyway, to which Zedd begrudgingly agreed. Cole had told Zedd that it would allow him to detect and dispel any silence spell much quicker and also avoid him having to reveal himself to the men outside. But the real reason for him wanting to do it, was to test his own link first. He would perform several tests, pushing the boundaries until Zedd became aware of his presence within his mind. That way he would know what was possible in the future, and when Zedd did eventually sense him there it would all appear perfectly legitimate to Zedd. A perfect opportunity that Cole couldn’t possibly ignore.
“How many are there?” Avril asked, nervously.
“I’d say about sixty. Some magi, and some not,” Cole replied.
“Oh, Gods,” Avril said, taking hold of her cousin’s hand.
Zedd sniggered derisively. “Sixty or six hundred, it makes little difference. They will either choose to follow me, or they will die. It’s as simple as that.”
In the past, Cole thought Zedd had often been overconfident in many of the situations they’d faced together, but he found himself having to agree with him this time. Even without his recent acquisition of the dragon heart shard, or indeed the knowledge from the Guardian book in Coldmont, he would still have favoured Zedd’s chances against the men outside. Half of them were devoid of any magic ability at all, whilst the other half would have barely made first tier magi within the Empire. Only Draek showed any real signs of power and even he was no match for the old Zedd, let alone the powerful mage he had now become.
“I’m here, wench, come and deliver your challenge to me, if you dare,” Draek shouted from the street outside, eliciting a wave of laughter from his gathered men.
Zedd smiled and moved towards the door. He was going to enjoy this. He lifted the bar from behind the door and spoke the words of power to erect a strong magical shield around himself. He could feel the anticipation of battle building within the dragon heart shard, it yearned to kill… no, not kill… hunt. It sensed what was about to happen as a hunt. Zedd was the hunter, and the men outside were his prey. It infused him with power, opening itself fully to his needs, doing its utmost to ensure the hunt was a successful one. Zedd’s smile widened still further, as he opened the door and locked eyes with Draek. He saw the instant fear in his eyes when he witnessed the incredible strength of his aura. Several of the magi within the group backed away from their l
eader, whilst almost half of them remained blissfully unaware of the danger that they now faced.
“Who… Who are you?” Draek managed to stutter, after raising his own pathetic shield first.
Zedd ignored him and ran his gaze over the other men. They were a pathetic bunch. He had seen sheep farmers back in the Empire with more magical ability than these men. And those were the ones that actually had any magical ability. At least half of the men had none whatsoever. How these people had managed to survive against the Thule Empire for so long, he had no idea. But there again, the Empire had never seriously attempted to rid themselves of these people. They had left them in place as a buffer between the Thule Empire, and Edrana, the land to the south of The Badlands. The Thule Empire tolerated a certain amount of raids on their border towns, and when they started to become too frequent or problematic, they would send a small force to thin out their numbers again. Sometimes the Empire would also send a small force to capture slaves, especially if there was a large building project planned, or disease had adversely affected the slave population. Zedd suspected that Edrana treated The Badlands and its population in a similar manner, as they too could have destroyed its people and claimed their land as its own. But instead they chose to leave it as it was; a lawless buffer between themselves and the Thule Empire.
Zedd locked eyes with Draek once more, and he visibly paled under his gaze. “My name is Zedd, and I challenge you for the right to lead this clan,” Zedd said, loud and clear so that everyone in attendance could hear. The non-magi within the group began to laugh, but the others who could see Zedd’s aura were certainly not amused. Many of them erected shields around themselves and shuffled backwards away from their leader. Bravely, or stupidly, Zedd couldn’t decide—Draek stepped forward defiantly.
“You have no right to challenge my position, only members of the Kraell clan have that right,” Draek said, with as much authority in his voice as he could muster.
Zedd grinned wickedly at his reply. He knew no leader worth his salt would back down so easily and give up what he already had. In fact, Zedd had been counting on it. Without a demonstration of his power, no one there would take his claim seriously. And unfortunately for Draek, his death would be that demonstration. Zedd ignored Draek’s words and instead addressed his men directly.
“I will take control of the Kraell clan, and it will be the first of many. My offer to you men is simple. Serve me… or die.” He’d always secretly wanted to use those infamous words of Lord Zelroth’s, and it only seemed fitting to do so at the start of his own rise to power. Several men in the group, all non-magi, laughed at his words. Zedd singled one man out at random and spoke a single word of power. The man didn’t even have time to react, as his chest exploded outwards, covering everyone around him in blood and gore. The man then slumped forward and hit the ground with a wet thud, blood pooling all around him, whilst everyone stood staring open-mouthed at their dead clansman. The dragon heart shard revelled in the victory of the hunt and begged for more.
Even though Zedd didn’t see which man cast the silence spell, he still felt its effects, and a heartbeat later he also felt Cole counteract it. He laughed out loud, showing whoever was responsible for it that they’d failed, but no face in the crowd betrayed their actions, and so he was still none the wiser as to who had done it. He decided that he didn’t really care and continued with his speech as if nothing had happened—only this time, no one laughed at his words.
“I look around me and I can’t help wondering why any of you would choose to live in this dry, dusty, infertile land. Or why you choose to sit back and watch the Empire kill your friends and kin, or take them to serve as slaves. Why you fight clan against clan, killing each other over a small patch of barren land, a horse, or an infringement of some unwritten law.” Zedd paused, waiting for a reaction from someone, and a moment later he was rewarded for his patience. Given what he’d just done to one of them, he was pleasantly surprised that someone amongst them was brave enough to speak up. He took note of the man’s face. If he chose to serve him, he would reward his bravery. If not, he would serve his cause by dying.
“What else can we do? No one chooses to live in The Badlands, but that’s where we all find ourselves, nonetheless. Some are born here. Some have fled their old lives in the Empire or Edrana. But one thing is for certain—we will all die here, one way or another. There is no choice for any of us—not anymore. We are trapped here, each and every one of us, so we are forced to make the best of our situation. We raid the border towns of the Empire and Edrana for supplies in order to survive, and they kill or enslave us in return. It’s been that way for centuries, and it will no doubt remain that way for centuries to come,” the man said in a neutral voice, obviously trying his best not to cause any offence to Zedd.
“That may have been true once, but if you choose to follow me, I can offer you an alternative to that life,” Zedd replied. “Kneel and pledge your allegiance to me, and I promise that you will no longer be a prisoner within your own lands.”
“We will never kneel before you,” Draek said, giving his men a hard stare.
Zedd laughed manically at his open defiance. “Oh, you will kneel before me. I can promise you that,” Zedd said, sneering at him. Draek clearly spoke the words of power to silence Zedd, but Cole removed its effects almost immediately.
“I think your men should be allowed to make their own decisions about that, don’t you?” Zedd replied, calmly, as he watched the look of horror spread across Draek’s face. Draek frantically spoke the words of power again, but Cole counteracted him once more.
“Kneel before me,” Zedd commanded.
Draek shook his head mutely. Zedd didn’t know if he was refusing to kneel or was simply confused as to why his silence spell had failed to work again—but he didn’t really care.
“I SAID KNEEL!” Zedd shouted, then spoke a few words of power under his breath. Draek’s shield failed him almost instantly, and on Zedd’s second incantation, the bones in his legs shattered with a sickening crunch, sending him crashing to his knees, screaming in agony. Audible gasps and curses could be heard coming from the men, but unsurprisingly none of them rushed forward to defend their clan leader. Several men even fell to their own knees, but most remained defiantly standing, waiting for Zedd’s next move.
Only Draek’s whimpers and muted sounds of pain could be heard above the deafening silence which filled the street outside. Zedd met the eyes of every man still standing before he spoke again. In them, he saw anger and confusion, but little in the way of challenge. Zedd had always enjoyed playing mind games with people, and this time was no different. He felt certain that his next words would not go unrecognised for what they were; a direct retaliation for what Draek had previously done.
“I will give you all until sunset tomorrow to make your choice. Any man who does not present himself here and swear allegiance to me by then will forfeit his life. Choose wisely. I will not make this offer a second time.”
A wave of mutterings broke out amongst the men. Several of them gave Zedd a hard stare, but he chose to ignore it—for now. Two of the men moved towards Draek, no doubt intending to carry him off to one of their healers.
“Leave him,” Zedd commanded. The two men stopped mid-stride and gave him a look of utter contempt. Zedd noted their faces and smiled openly at them. “They will be amongst the first to die,” he thought to himself.
“What do you intend to do with him?” one of the men dared to ask.
“Whatever I choose,” Zedd replied, bluntly. “He had the audacity to threaten the lives of my family, and for that, he will pay.” The two men looked at each other, then at their writhing clan leader on the ground, unsure what to do next. “You’re both welcome to stay and share his fate, if you choose,” Zedd said, sneering at the two men. Both of them knew Zedd’s threat was genuine, and with one final glance towards their old clan leader, they turned and silently walked away, leaving Draek to his fate.
Zedd wat
ched the men begin to leave, wondering, but not really caring how many of them would return the following evening before sunset. He knew at least some of them would, if not all of them, and those that did would swear their allegiance to him. Some, however, would choose to flee—and that was fine too. They would no doubt try and join a neighbouring clan, and with them, they would take the story of what had happened here today. Zedd knew that words were just as potent a weapon as any magic or blade. The story of who he was, and what he intended to do would spread quickly throughout The Badlands. And once he’d proven how powerful he was, many clans would join him willingly. If not, he would kill their leaders and claim them as his own anyway—either way, the end result would still be the same. He turned and started walking back towards the house, but paused mid-stride when he heard Draek whimper once more. He spoke a simple incantation, and Draek was instantly engulfed by flames. He screamed in agony, but his cries fell silent even before Zedd made it back to the house. Zedd smiled to himself, not even bothering to look back as he opened the door and stepped inside.
Chapter Sixteen
Zedd half-expected some form of retaliation that night, but none came. Whether it was because they were all too afraid of him, or that they had something else planned for later instead, he didn’t know—or care. He had placed several warding spells around the outside of the house to warn him of any potential dangers, and used the dragon heart shard to power them. He had learned so much from the Guardian book in Coldmont, that he was only now beginning to scratch the surface of that knowledge. The dragon heart shard had also garnered him with a spattering of precious knowledge, no doubt sourced from the Guardians themselves. And although he didn’t quite yet understand most of it, or how to use it, he had high hopes that given enough time, all of that would change.
