Empress's Endgame (Book 5 and final of the Death Incanate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  Zikon managed to conjure a barrier, but Braxas grinned like a madman. “Too weak, Brother. Now Mother can fulfill her wish and never again have her own flesh and blood be a traitor to her rightful place. I’m going to enjoy watching her turning you into a ghost when I bring your spirit to her in a soul gem. Now die!” Braxas added mist to the dagger and brought it down on Zikon’s chest, cutting the weakened barrier as if it were wet paper.

  Ting! The dagger sounded as it made solid impact. Braxas’ eyes flew wide when the dagger didn’t pierce Zikon to the ground. The amount of force used numbed the hand, but the impact allowed Zikon the much needed breath.

  This time Zikon took the initiative by grabbing the hilt of the falling dagger in his only good hand, turned it around and before Braxas could react, Zikon sat up and yelled for all he was worth and stabbed the twisted bastard up under his jaw with so much strength the blade pierced up and out of his forehead, just above his right eye.

  Braxas fell into convulsions and as he stilled when his flesh rotted away, the green dragon proved to be a Familiar as he dropped dead, like cutting a puppet’s strings.

  The ground trembled but as it did Zikon heard sounds of alarm and the entire camp throwing lights into the air, bathing everything. He clutched his pained chest as men hopped like fleas with drawn swords, coming straight for him. Many yelled as soon as they got close, but Zikon enhanced his voice to yell “QUIET!”

  “Stand aside!” Came an order. It became clear the man was a captain by his armor and the blue crow decoration on his armored chest plate. Soldiers parted and another three dragons arrived on scene.

  Zikon immediately recognized the captain as soon as the men parted. “Cillian, help. Can’t concentrate. Ribs…”

  Cillian yelled “Medic!” a half dozen healers ran behind Tiffa as she was the first to run as soon as the sounds of battle reached her ears. She took everything in quickly and started ministering to Zikon. Many heard the loud snap of bone before she even laid hands on the sorcerer. He coughed as she pulled blood from his lungs and began knitting bone together as her aids worked on his mangled right hand that had been stomped on.

  As soon as he could breathe properly he said “Thank you so much, Ladies. I can finish healing myself. Tekannalaianne.” He said the keyword and his staff teleported into his grasp. He glowed blue healing and pale white light from natural power. In moments he was whole and got to his feet to move swiftly over to Theresa’s form. His power manipulated her broken arm, pushing the bone back beneath her scales while only he could bypass her gems attached to her severed head to lift it up and bring it back. Her arm and neck glowed a brilliant blue as everything was put back together.

  Just as soon as her severed neck reattached Theresa’s entire body jerked and her chest swelled with air. Her eyes snapped open and she roared “Where is he!”

  Zikon said “Both are dead.”

  Theresa looked and smiled. “But she has his soul.” She said to one nearby orange dragon. Before anyone could stop her, Theresa sent a blast of shredding magic and completely obliterated the dragon’s spirit so he would never again be able to do anything to anybody else. “You’re next!”

  Rex Gralla suddenly appeared out of thin air, grabbed Theresa’s head and slammed it into the ground. “Calm your rage, Hatchling!” she growled and Theresa went still out of fright and by order. “Information we could have gathered is now lost. Do not move or act this way again. Clear?”

  Theresa whined and Rex Gralla released her. Theresa stayed down on her belly, chastised and embarrassed. The Rex looked at the rapidly gathering humans and said “Danger here is passed. Return to resting, Two-legs’. Zikon Two-legs, what transpired here?”

  “Are you holding a man’s spirit?” She looked to an orange dragons, grunted and got a nod in return.

  “I am now. He struggles in vain. He in mad in the mind.” She said moments later.

  “Apparently he was my brother, well half brother.” Zikon admitted and sent a spell to surround the rapidly decomposing corpse, extracted the dagger without touching it and sent a spell to encase the man’s staff. “He was called Braxas and almost killed me. When did you get here?”

  “Moments ago. I was given word of a breach in these wards, but my casters could not locate the infiltrators. Now I doubt it can be corrected with your partner’s recklessness. No human could have slipped through wards I personally added spells to and avoided my sentries’ detection to allow any to come to harm. Was any murdered?”

  Cillian listened as a scout whispered and he removed his helmet and approached. “Only one man was in the nearest tent. His body was just discovered burned beyond recognition. None other was harmed.” He then turned on the sorcerer. “And how are you alive, Lord Zikon. I was with the observers and watched… whoever the bastard was, stab through your magic and hit your chest. You should be dead.”

  “But I’m not.” Zikon pulled the front of his robe apart and revealed a chest encased entirely in a purple sheathe. Only it is skin, hard as metal. “This is the fruit of months of research. Just as Cage has arms and feet like this, I’ve encased my torso. Good thing too. I did it just this morning and already it saved my life from Zeether venom.”

  Cillian sighed. “I’m glad you survived. I was helpless except to watch… well after I wasn’t blinded by the two of you dueling and looking like small suns.”

  King Tate and a dozen elite knights landed a second later, all armored and ready for battle. “Report, Captain Cillian.”

  Cillian saluted. “Lord Zikon was attacked by a man who glowed as he does. Theresa tried helping, but that dead green dragon tore her head off. Zikon was knocked down, almost stabbed, but managed to gain hold of the blade and deliver a fatal blow.”

  “Thank you.” King Tate said and looked at the sorcerer’s exposed chest. “Lord Zikon, I see you finally managed to duplicate Ceembura’s experiment. Any chance it can be mass produced for my men?”

  “Not in the timeframe we have. I used every molecule to safeguard my torso. If my brother had stabbed me anywhere else I’d be dead.” King Tate’s eyes looked to the floating blade, staff and rotting mass with bones melting.

  “Brother?” the king asked as he removed his helmet.

  “Yes, I could feel we had different fathers, but the same mother. I never knew he existed, let alone also had a dragon for a Familiar, one already full grown. I haven’t been so close to dying in many centuries.”

  “I can tell. Your hands are shaking.” As if realizing it for the first time, Zikon looked down at his hands. To distract him King Tate said “The remains don’t look healthy. Is it dangerous? I’ve not heard of such till Eleia explained what she sensed in the Great Prophet.”

  “Quite dangerous.” The sorcerer said. “The remains will infect all who breathe it till all moisture dries. And direct skin contact will make the spread faster. Only intense heat will kill its deadly properties.”

  “Allow me, Zikon Two-legs.” Theresa said and then looked beside her. “May I?” Rex Gralla allowed it with a grunt after seeing that Theresa was in control of herself again.

  Zikon allowed Theresa to take over his spell and she lifted it over her head. As many of the orbs began to wink out all around the camp and darkness returned, many around the purple dragon watched her white underbelly began to faintly glow and rise up her neck before a huge belch of violet flame surrounded the remains and incinerated everything till nothing but ash and molten glass from some dirt remained. As she stopped the fire, she threw the mass far away, seeming much calmer.

  As she looked down she found Megdline embracing Zikon tightly, crying into his chest. Arriving as soon as word reached her. Theresa then heard King Tate say “Lord Zikon, go get some rest. That fight took its toll on you. We’ll discuss it before sunrise, but for now rest.”

  Before he moved a muscle while clutching his wife close, Zikon said “Rex Gralla, learn what you can from my brother, but do not release him till I learn what I wish to know. Do you need a soul
gem?”

  “Have spares I do.” She said. “I must find how they infiltrated soon and amend the barrier. It may take time, he won’t cooperate willingly. Likely I’ll contact Cage Two-legs to assist…”

  “Then go to him or send her with my brother.” He pointed a glowing finger at the orange dragon beside the fiery Rex. “My brother couldn’t be detected by me, but I sensed his hatred. We do not have time to play nice. Cage can get information from spirits better than anyone alive.”

  “I agree.” King Tate seconded.

  “Return I shall as soon as possible.” The orange dragon said after her Rex spoke quickly. She lifted her hand and in it was a small sapphire that suddenly glowed. From it fought a sneering voice demanding to be released. She then disappeared in an orange light.

  Zikon, Megdline and Frill approached Theresa and moved away to rest and overcome the frightening ordeal while the area was fixed from the fight and some were tasked with discovering who had died and notify the family, if they had one.

  Burning blood rushed through every vein of every single dragon in all colonies in the alliance as they could not help but watch by sight mirror the very start of the next morning. The five Rex’s’ were all gathered in the massive underground hall in The Fire Mountains. All armies were ready, giving more than half of their entire fighting force to be under Rex Nattan’s command. All remaining were colony defenders to keep up pretenses. It was by his power alone they pierced the readying battle area. Each one of the five held their ancient Tiaxm blades, all pale white and made exactly the same as Ghosts Bane, only much larger and designed for a dragon’s hands. Never had they wished to use them for such a purpose, but they were needed. Each dragon in the hall was fully armored and well trained to defeat what was expected to come. The hall was deathly silent and ready to spring into action.

  And then it happened as dawn arrived to the point where human’s could see and fight without stumbling around blindly in darkness. Thousands of mages walked out from behind their barrier holding thick, multicolored chains. It was clear it was to pool all their energies into single cohesive forces of fifteen lines so as to contain the natural power of a lost species who was no longer truly alive, more a mindless killing creature. With the arrival of the mages pulling on magical bindings, it was seen Kings Skylar and Tate leading their armies out from behind their own lines of defense. All soldiers were fully armored from head to foot, weapons drawn, metal shields up and magical support conjuring individual powers and fusing them into groups to increase offensive and defensive capabilities. Those holding onto the many witches’ power were battle mages who lived and breathed magical fights and relished in destruction. But they didn’t dare loose the swelling power till range was closed and the empire had yet to launch their own offensive projectiles. Even a blind beast could sense something wasn’t right on the empire’s side.

  Every alliance waiting dragon saw every human male soldier wearing the harness modification at the small of their backs, even as most rode horseback. It all came down to this. Behind the thousands of soldiers followed mostly women changed by binding with the first sentient race. Those with snarling Familiars were focused mainly on defense.

  The truth was revealed to the world as fifteen dragons from the Division Mountains came into view, each holding onto the ropes the magical lines that had been made, helping to drag a near elder dragon size white form across the field. In the containment field withed and fought something with immense strength beyond nature’s intention. Then with a powerful throw on the magical rope, fifteen warrior class Tiaxm exploded from the multicolored bubbles as soon as the magical rope dissipated and were thrown toward the alliance.

  Rex Nattan yelled in Draconian “TO BATTLE!”

  Immediately two million elder dragons teleported from the Fire Mountains, directly over the skies of the alliance and the Laqura Empire’s forces. The air boomed just as the Tiaxm found their feet and prey they were thrown at. But just as the dragon’s arrived, every single human partner was teleported safely to the seat of their partner’s armored backs. The battlefield emptied except for the poor horses who became riderless. Before the fifteen Tiaxm could so much as blink to figure out where their numerous prey went, the five Rex’s poured magic down their pale blades and created a fissure close to a mile wide of pure destruction, twenty across and a mile deep before leading the charge to rip the fifteen monsters who had been blown up and cut them apart and blast their remains with dragon’s fire. The warrior class of Tiaxm were too dangerous to be allowed to recover.

  The empire had not expected such an immediate and so violent a reaction, nor to the fact that more than a dozen dragons inside their own protective barrier went on a rampage, killing all in their way. It took only seconds, but more than half of the entire force sent to overtake Emroc was ripped apart. The very fabric of reality warped as the anger of the dragons were unleashed. Vision distorted by the amount of power made it hard to even breathe. The smell of sickly sweet mana could be tasted while hearing not protected by the concussive forces from millions of explosions blew eardrums or outright vaporized any too close. The smell of the Tiaxm, the soulless rot, filled the fully evolved reptiles with such anger the human force was ill equipped for.

  There was no running away.

  Rex Gralla flipped like a gymnast in the air with her First Council sorceress, funneling power into her pale blade, turning it a fiery red before launching it at the enemy barrier. The bright reddish orange wave ripped through the shield as if it weren’t there, allowing her and the million behind her complete access to the traitors to life and freedom. She personally targeted the strange metallic crates, her sword cleaving through them like butter. Each one she passed, ten giant soldiers pounced and tore into the Tiaxm, burning them once they could not move.

  Blue smoke from burning Tiaxm blood wafted from most boxes.

  Rex Nattan and King Skylar made it their personal mission to lead the force against the fleeing dragons responsible for allowing this mess to come about. King Skylar was magically thrown and yelled the keyword which allowed him to pierce the enemy barrier so his hammers could shatter the gemstone of his enemy while his partner beheaded a second opponent on a golden blur. Skylar leapt off before being swatted like an insect, but aimed his fists at the nearest enemy. The gem at his lower back locked on to the next flyer trying to escape, but the hooks latched on and sucked him straight to the wing. Using power of now a first class wizard he swept his arm, conjuring a brown whip of magic to rip apart the huge, leathery sail. The tear threw off the flyer’s balance, giving enough time for a swift peach female to swoop down, beheading him.

  Skylar dropped, but Reece was right there and his talons hooked onto the bar over the king’s armored left shoulder. The Familiar flew away, barely avoiding the giant bodies.

  King Tate hopped from one dragon to the next with General Kurk and his elite warriors, stabbing and harassing the enemy till they were forced to the ground where they ran through the frightened empire’s forces, taking down the last remaining pockets of resistance and slaying all in their way during the confusion and sheer terror. None stood a chance. The only ones able to get away were mages not under the magic that stops teleporting. Those lucky enough to escape the slaughter were few and far between.

  In the Laqura Castle, Rex Shakka in her dark cave roared to her colony, seeing everything and wouldn’t let such a one sided victory stand.

  More sonic booms alerted the alliance and over six million enemy soldier dragons appeared for over fifty miles of sky. Under Rex Nattan’s order he contacted every dragon to command “Fall back!” Under compulsion, every dragon teleported to safety, to their individual colony to protect it from a soon to be retaliation.

  On the ground, ninety percent of the empire’s entire force of sixteen million lay dead. Every dragon truly bound to Rex Shakka that had accompanied the humans lay dead. But on the other side of the fissure not a single soul remained. Each one was bound to a dragon. Those that weren’t s
tay safe in Kidi, which was slowly moving further and further away, the whole fortified town was on the move.

  “Victory!” Came the call from King Tate on the back of Rex Semek. Dragons and human’s alike roared. Once it settled it was found that the Tiaxm caused the death of eleven dragons and their humans before being destroyed. When that was revealed Rex Nattan said “Now comes the true battle. This won’t be won by a since decisive victory. Our opponents will learn and alter tactics. We are still greatly outnumbered as witnessed.” Moods sobered, but was not lost.

  For now the empire had been stopped completely and took a serious wound.

  What none saw was a single Tiaxm rise from the rubble. It was no larger than a dog, escaping its mother’s dead womb, but it caught a scent that ordered it to go elsewhere rather than feast on all the fresh meat. This scent was one only a Tiaxm could detect and override its natural instinct to devour.

  It disappeared, unseen by any.

  Fredrick cut his thumb on the edge of both swords and sat the whetstone down as he decided it to be perfectly sharp, gave the edges a quick rub of oil and sheathed them at his hips. He smiled as during the night three of his four women surprised him with finding they were pregnant with his child. Fredrick could never remember such a moment of pride and love. He didn’t like that today was the day that had come, wishing he had made them carry his child sooner, but since they were each less than a week pregnant, their duties could be done without harming the baby. Bern, Gregory and Shorty all felt the same when they learned the same news this past week and a half, that pregnant Utala women still fought or hunted till they began to show or were considered unable to do so by Meeka. The healer had come by earlier and shook her head when she could find no medical reason to keep them on the island. Both fetus and mother were more than healthy. He knew Meeka would keep his confidence or his women would not be favorable. It didn’t mean he had to like his pregnant loves going into danger. He grabbed his helmet and put it on as he came outside to find his black dragon glistening in the noon day sun as he laid down on the beach. He wore his heavy painted battle armor with two long, curve swords strapped to his spine, looking like oversized handles on top of an alligator, with the sharp blade edges aimed skyward. Beside his dragon were his men and theirs, each talking to one another like friends who had known each other all their lives.