Carloman raised his hand, and the soldiers took aim at Jonas and Tataramoa, Carloman smirked, looking Elias in the eye as he prepared to give the signal. Elias gritted his teeth and raised his sword, his muscles bunching as he readied a charge.
The ground shook, and a great gust of wind pelted everyone with snow and shards of stone. A powerful roar blasted their ears, deafening them, and Elias looked up, lowering his sword in surprise. Every soldier whirled to look at what assaulted the top of the wall.
A giant silver dragon perched there, claws digging into the stone, crushing it to gravel. His wings were outstretched, and he flapped them once, the wind nearly hammering the assembled troops to the ground. It was Sargoth!
“Kill it! Kill the dragon!” Carloman screamed, and the soldiers fired their crossbows at the giant beast. The bolts bounced harmlessly off of the dragon's scales, some shattering where they struck. Sargoth inhaled, a red glow forming at his throat, and then roared again, a great blast of fire playing over the courtyard. Drakhus held up his hand, and the flames flowed around him and Carloman as if they were protected by an invisible spherical barrier.
When the flames ceased, the black-robed mage threw his slender, nearly skeletal hands out, hurling blasts of black lightning towards the dragon, striking him on the breast. Scorch marks marred the dragon's scales as he snarled in pain, rolling back slightly from the impacts, which were much greater than they seemed.
Elias grabbed Quartz by the arm, and shoved her forward, towards the main gates of the fortress. “Go! Get Eira way from here! Jonas, Tatar, protect them!”
As his four companions sprinted across the courtyard, dodging the smoldering corpses of the soldiers Sargoth had immolated, Elias turned to Carloman, rushing towards him. The large man barely had time to see Elias, grab a sword off of a dead soldier, and counter Elias's strike, but counter it he did. He drove his foot into Elias's stomach, sending bolts of burning pain through Elias's torso.
Carloman stooped and grabbed another sword in his other hand as Elias recovered. Behind him, Drakhus and Sargoth battled, the robed figure hurling bolts of black magic at the dragon, while the dragon dodged and swiped his claws at the wizard. If Sargoth sent more fire into the courtyard, he risked burning Elias and his friends.
Elias's vision was fully engulfed in red now, and he attacked Carloman with a savagery he hadn't felt since he had battled Tessermyre on the deck of the Leviathan. His blows rained down on Carloman's weapons, each strike sending Carloman reeling back. The northern lord tried to block a horizontal swing with the edges of both swords, but they shattered under Elias's onslaught, one blade snapping off entirely, while another folded to the side as if it were made of soft copper or bronze.
A bolt of energy struck Elias, hammering him back against the ground, sending him sliding across the now melting snow on the frozen courtyard mud. He could smell scorched cloth, and tasted blood in his mouth as he coughed, rolling to his knees. Painfully, he struggled to his feet, in time for another bolt to strike his shoulder, spinning him almost to the ground again.
He looked up as Carloman, about fifteen yards away, picked up a crossbow and leveled it at him. He gritted his teeth and readied himself to dodge if he could, his sword between him and his quarry.
Sargoth leapt off of the wall, landing between Elias, Carloman, and Drakhus. Reaching out with one clawed hand, Sargoth gripped Elias tightly around the chest, causing the elf to grunt in pain, and launched himself into the air. A bolt of energy hurtled past them, the electric smell of the magic blast burning Elias's nostrils, but the dragon wheeled out of its path, dodging the magical attack. His powerful wings propelling him, Sargoth flew over the western wall, and landed near the woodline. He set Elias down, and looked to the south.
Elias could barely see in the blackness, but he could just make out four figures sprinting towards them. One wore a black cloak, while another wore a long white or gray one. Another was perhaps blue, but it was hard to see in this light.
It was his allies, Jonas, Tataramoa, Quartz, and Eira.
As they approached, Eira drew up short, staring wide-eyed at the dragon. Sargoth dipped his head to her in a kind of bow. “My lady, would that I could have met you under different circumstances.”
Quartz urgently grabbed Elias's hand. “Elias, we have to get back to the clearing. They are chasing us, and I need time to prepare the ritual that will return us to Valtheim.”
Sargoth turned to Quartz, and looked her over, narrowing his eyes. He growled, a low rumble in his chest. “I will distract them as long as I can, but that wizard could be the death of me, and I'd rather not die. I can buy you some time, perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes, before they are after you again. Is that enough?”
Quartz nodded. “I'll make it work! Now let's go!”
Sargoth nodded, lifting off again, as Elias and his companions entered the forest, sprinting west as fast as they could.
What had taken them an hour before, they completed in fifteen minutes, following their previous trail as well as they could. Behind them, they could hear Sargoth's roars, and blasts of fire and magic as he harried the castle. Even when they reached the clearing, the sounds of the battle could be heard waning in the distance, and occasional bright flashes as the dragon breathed his fire illuminated the white, snowy clearing.
The flashes ceased as Quartz was setting up the ritual, her hands creating electric purple streaks in the snow, the same diagram pressing itself into the ground, through the snow, as if by a giant stamp. Jonas and Tataramoa watched warily as she hurried about her work, while Eira assisted her, moving her hands in an intricate pattern, a pale blue-white light coming off of them.
There was a great rushing of wind, and Sargoth hurtled by overhead, moving west at a breakneck speed, not stopping when he passed over the top of them. Elias and his companions sheltered their heads from the wind, watching him as he flew past. Quartz gestured at the diagram, and the lines lit up purple, the same design that had been on the floor in her chambers back at Valtheim.
“Alright. Take the places you had before, Elias, you're in the largest circle. Eira, you take this one. Jonas, Tataramoa, back where you were before.” She stepped towards Elias. “You will need to hold me. There's not enough room in my circle for two, and Eira is larger than I am.”
Slightly taken aback, Elias nodded. Quartz stepped into his circle, and he made as much room for her as he could. He reached down and lifted her against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, helping support her own weight. He brought his arm down under her backside, supporting her from underneath, as one might carry a child. He was extremely conscious of her chest pressing against his, even through his tunic,
“Eira, you know what to do?” she asked, turning as best she could to look at the queen.
Eira nodded. “I've been doing this for longer than you have, young lady,” she said confidently. She moved her hands out over the sigils in the snow and closed her eyes, then abruptly, Elias was surrounded by the buffeting winds again, Quartz gripping his neck tightly, her legs wrapping around his waist as she clung to him. His other arm instinctively went around her waist, pulling her closer as he fought to keep his balance.
“If you fall, we both die!” Quartz shouted into his ear above the maelstrom.
“I won't let that happen!” he shouted back, steadying himself against the wind.
The trip was as short as the first one had been, and then they were in Quartz's chambers in Valtheim. All of the candles had long since gone out, their wax puddled and hardened on the cold stone floor.
Elias dropped, falling to his knees as the blur of their travel abated, Quartz still clinging to him. Jonas fell as well, and even Tataramoa looked unsteady.
Jonas cursed profusely as he gripped his head, grimacing. He retched, as he had the first time, but it was dry, with nothing to lose anymore. The only one who seemed completely unaffected was Eira, who stood in her circle, steady, looking around the chamber with a look of wonder.
“Am I really... is this truly Valtheim?”
When she spoke, Quartz's door flew open, and Brandt stood in the doorframe.
“Mother!” he cried, rushing over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off of the ground with his embrace, which she returned warmly. “When the dragon came with news of Tiefuhr, I feared the worst!”
“Brandt, oh, my son! I have missed you so much!”
Elias realized he was still holding on to Quartz, and carefully let her go so as not to drop her. She seemed to come at the same realization, and hastily unwrapped her arms and legs from his neck and waist, getting her feet under her and rising to a stand. They looked at each other for a moment, before Elias struggled to his feet. Pain lanced through his abdomen again, and he winced, inhaling sharply through his teeth.
Tataramoa looked over at Elias, and saw the blood soaking the front of his breeches. “Quickly, we need a healer! Elias is wounded!”
Quartz looked down at herself, Elias's blood soaking her clothing as well.
Elias sat back on the ground, closing his eyes as his companions rushed about, fetching a healer for him.
Wizards and secret councils and dragons and dark lords and undead armies and magical travel... what had his life become? At least he had some solace... Drakhus had said the name Tessermyre. Elias was on the right path, and nothing would stop him from achieving his vengeance.
He breathed deep, feeling the pain in his chest and stomach, but was not troubled. He had overcome greater wounds than this. It would take some time to heal, but they had that time. It was time to plan their next move.
Chapter Twelve
5th Waxing Frost Moon, Year 4369
Elias lay on his back on top of the long wooden table, staring at the thick beams that supported the ceiling of Brandt's meeting chamber. They had more or less taken over the room as a base for their operations once Elias's forces had moved into the town, and it doubled as a place for Geoff to patch Elias up after whatever battle was done with him.
Elias's dragon skin tunic lay on a table nearby, drying blood caked on the bottom, though the garment itself wasn't damaged. Apparently, dragon skin was fireproof both inside and out. Elias, however, was not. The embers that Carloman had thrown at him had rolled down the open front of the tunic and settled where his belt held it against his waist, burning him until his blood had put them out. There was a lot of charred skin around his midsection, with trails of burns running down his chest and stomach, though it felt and looked worse than it was.
Geoff applied a salve to his wounds, and Elias caught his breath, hissing in pain and tensing up. Geoff paused until Elias relaxed again, and continued with his work. Elias pushed himself up on his elbows, watching the young man work. Though Geoff's actions were painful on his tender skin, the salve soothed the burn, dulling the pain almost immediately. “What's in that stuff?”
“Oil from olives, lavender, and Johnathan's wort, calendula leaves, beeswax, and ground comfrey.” For larger patches of burns that weren't all the way through Elias's skin, Geoff applied the salve directly to large, wide comfrey leaves, and pasted them to Elias's wounds. “The comfrey leaves can be used as bandages by themselves, in a pinch, but we'll wrap you with proper dressings, to hold them in place. Comfrey stimulates the healing of skin, though it wouldn't do much for bones or muscles, and is useless for tendons.”
Geoff looked back towards Elias's chest, inspecting the bruises he had gotten when Carloman had stabbed him through his tunic. “Lucky for you, no ribs are broken, just some deep bruising. It'll hurt for a while, but that's about it. You should mend well. More than a little scarring, but other than that, you got away pretty clean.”
Elias lay back again, resting his head on a rolled-up towel. “Yeah. Lucky me.”
Geoff quirked a brow and quietly scoffed. “You did get away clean. This strike didn't impale you.” He poked the bruise on Elias's chest, making him flinch. “This one would have gone through your heart, and there's no salve or bandage that can fix that.”
Elias sighed. “I know. But I didn't kill Carloman or Drakhus. They're still up at Tiefuhr, and now they are fully aware of what we're doing. No more element of surprise.”
Geoff nodded. “Yes, that is true. But your mission was a success. You brought back Queen Eira, you returned alive, with all of your companions, and you even found Sargoth.”
Elias chuckled quietly. “More like he found us. I'm still not sure why or how. Is he still here?”
Geoff nodded, smiling. “Much to the distress of our northern friends, yes, Sargoth is still here. He's taken up helping dispose of the bodies from the battle.”
Elias grimaced. “Is he... eating them?”
Geoff shook his head. “Blech. No, he's burning them. Saves on wood, which we'll need this winter.”
Elias nodded. “Better than eating them, I guess.” He sat up, wincing. Lifting his arms, he let Geoff wrap his chest and stomach in linen bandages. Once the healer's ministrations were complete, Elias swung his feet over the edge of the table and stood, stretching. The motion was painful to his skin, but his muscles appreciated the activity despite his bruises. He picked up his tunic, looking over for damage before setting it back down. He would need to wash it before he wore it again; it wouldn't do to walk around in blood caked clothing. Other than that, though, the dragonskin was undamaged. A fresh pair of breeches lay folded on a chair nearby, as well as his brown cloth tunic.
Once Geoff had left the room, Elias removed his stained breeches and used a white cloth and a bowl of water to clean the blood off of himself, and another to dry. Slipping on the clean garment, he tied the hem around his waist, tucking the ends into the waistband. Behind him, he heard Quartz clear her throat.
He turned and saw her standing in the doorway of her chamber, looking him over. He flushed slightly, wondering how long she had been watching him. He lifted his tunic and considered putting it on, but the pain under his dressings made him think better if it. He turned to face Quartz, dropping the tunic back on the chair.
Quartz closed the door to her room and stepped forward. “How are you feeling?”
Elias sat on the chair that held his tunic and pulled his boots from under the table. “Sore. My burns hurt, but other than that, I am well. How are you?”
She sighed. “Tired. Practicing magic is... exhausting. With time, it'll get easier, but for now...” She sank onto a chair on the other side of the table, resting her elbow on it.
This was a change from her normally cool, stiff demeanor. Elias slipped his left foot into his boot, careful not to disturb the bandages around his midsection as he bent to pull it on. “How long have you been studying?”
She rubbed her temples. “Almost two years. I started learning from my master on the winter solstice before last, year four thousand, three hundred sixty-seven.”
Elias raised an eyebrow, tugging on the top of his boot, seating his foot into it. “And in two years, you can crush ridges and raise mountains?”
She looked askance at him. “I told you, I was talented. That is why my master selected me. If I had no latent ability towards what he sought to teach me, he would have found someone else to teach without wasting his time.”
Elias slipped his right foot into its boot. “That sounds like a pretty big responsibility.”
Quartz shrugged. “We all have our roles to play. You should know this well.”
Elias tightened the laces on his boots. “Yes. Yes, I do.” He stood, squaring his shoulders. “So, now that we have recovered Queen Eira, what are your plans?”
Quartz sat up, leaning back in her chair. “I will return to my master and continue my training, unless he has another task for me.”
“So your time here is done?”
She shrugged again. “Perhaps. It is not my place to question.” She frowned and seemed to be displeased with what she had just said.
“You know, you could always stay here with us. We could use your help.”
; Quartz shook her head. “That's not how it works. If I cross my master, then my time with him will have been wasted.” She looked up at him, her violet eyes rimmed with slight dark circles. “No, I will take my rest, and depart.”
Elias nodded and drew on his tunic, hiding his pain. “As you will, then. You are always welcome amongst my warriors and I.”
Quartz chuckled, rising from her seat. “I am not sure Jenna agrees with that sentiment, but thank you nonetheless.”
Elias half smiled, rubbing the back of his head. “She means well, she really does. She is cautious, is all.”
“That is wise. One cannot be too cautious.”
Elias's smile filled out. “So I've been told.” He walked towards the door to the great hall, pausing before he left. “I am going to go talk to Sargoth. You're welcome to join me, if you wish.”
Quartz followed him out the door, and they made their way to the outer wall. Sargoth's wings could be seen over the top of the western battlements, glinting in the late autumn sun. As they reached the top of the wall, they could see the massive dragon digging a furrow in the ground with one huge, clawed hand. Once he had a trench roughly as long as he was, about a hundred feet, he sat back on his haunches as soldiers started laying bodies into it. Sargoth's head perked up, and he turned to look at Elias and Quartz. When he spotted them on the wall, he loped on over, moving much as a cat would, and sat up next to the stone barrier.
“Good afternoon, Elias. Welcome back.”
“And you as well, Sargoth. I'll admit, I didn't expect to see you in the Northlands. How did you come to be at Tiefuhr?”
Sargoth chuckled, his enormous shoulders shaking. “Right to the point. A bit different from our first meeting, to be sure.” He looked sideways at Elias, smirking. “To be honest, there were many things that drew me to the Northlands, not the least of which was our last conversation. I had every intention of flying past the great mountains to the east of the Burning Sands, but...”
Thunderbolt (Dynasty of Storms Book 2) Page 20
