by R A Oakes
“Whose castle do you think this is, Prophet? Is it Skybrook Castle, the home of the Fighting Eagle?” Chaktar asked the warrior angel.
“I don’t know. Even in the moonlight, the castle looks shabby. Surely Lord Stallington wouldn’t live in a place like this.”
As the two huge tigers looked on, a dense, dark fog formed around the base of the castle and began drifting up towards them.
“I thought all fog was white, but this mist looks dark, even black. Also, the temperature has dropped. Can you feel the chill in the air?” Chaktar asked.
“I can feel it,” Prophet said as he peered through the fog with his angel eyes, penetrating the gloom and seeking out its source. The warrior tiger became greatly alarmed when he saw the decrepit, old hag, for although he didn’t know who she was, he knew what she was.
“Chaktar, there’s an evil, old woman deep within the castle. There are also six dead men threatening two women, one of whom is also dead, but I don’t know about the other.”
“How can anyone be in danger if they’re dead?”
When Aerylln’s screams reached him, Prophet became too upset to answer. The tiger angel could see that the young woman was in serious trouble and anger filled his heart. Tilting back his head, he gave a ferocious roar, splitting the stillness of the night as it echoed off the surrounding mountains.
“At Dominion Castle, I had my fill of cruelty and evil. Wait here, Chaktar. I’m going to put a stop to this madness.”
Prophet ran forward, sprang into the air and flew towards Firecrest Castle with long, graceful strokes of his powerful wings. Had the warrior angel been visible, he would have made a striking appearance soaring through the moonlit sky.
Once reaching the castle, Prophet flew straight through its outer walls. Then, diving down into the bowels of Firecrest Castle, he crashed through the dungeon ceiling and raced past the wall of bars with its formidable gate and into the adjoining hallway. There the warrior angel landed next to Dead Woman and Aerylln who were being intimidated by a half-dozen filthy vagrants and a malicious, old woman with a hate so deep it was insatiable.
Prophet roared with all his might, causing even Balzekior to take a step back. Next, the tiger warrior angel swatted the evil, old crone with a powerful paw knocking her against the life-size statue of herself. The blow was so hard the old hag was almost knocked unconscious.
Moving quickly, Prophet’s jaws found the jailer’s neck and snapped it. The jailer had thought he was already dead, but the giant tiger introduced him to a deeper level of death. In the first stage of dying, which is the death of one’s body, the jailer and his men were still partly alive. But what Prophet had just done was kill the jailer’s spirit. Only after one’s body and spirit were both dead to this world could the dying process be complete.
The turkey-skinned man was the next to learn about this second stage of dying for he found himself being clawed to pieces by a spiritually-alive tiger who was very angry. As far as the jailer’s other men, they had turned and bolted down the hallway running as fast as they could.
“Who are you?” Aerylln asked the tiger, her voice full of wonder and surprise.
“I’m a warrior angel in the service of King Tarlen Kardimont,” Prophet said, though he’d not seen the king for 30 years, not since Tarlen was a boy.
“Really?” the teenage girl asked. “I saw Tarlen change into a tiger once, and he’s even called the Tiger of Dominion Castle. But do you know if he’s gotten here yet?”
“King Tarlen can change into a tiger? That’s fantastic,” Prophet said feeling greatly relieved. “And you say he’s coming here?”
“Yes, and soon, if he’s not here already.”
“What’s a young woman who knows King Tarlen doing in a fight with such disgusting people?”
“I’m Aerylln, and I wield Baelfire, the Sword of Light. That is, I did until I messed up and ended up like this.”
“You’re Aerylln?” Prophet asked in an almost hushed tone of voice.
“Yes.”
“When you do see the king, please tell him that two tigers from Dominion Castle are here and would like to meet with him.”
“King Tarlen wants to take back Dominion Castle.”
“So do I.”
Just then, Balzekior began shaking off the effects of the tiger angel’s attack.
“GRRR!” Prophet growled, taking a step towards the evil, old crone.
Balzekior quickly retreated into the stone statue of herself, but before disappearing completely, she said, “Don’t think this is over, because it’s not!” Then she was gone.
Prophet put one arm around Aerylln and the other around Dead Woman. The warrior angel spread his wings and let out a ferocious growl as a final warning to anyone who might be foolish enough to attempt to block their exit. Next, the giant tiger leapt into the air, flew back through the dungeon ceiling, and headed up towards the castle courtyard. Once he reached the surface, he stretched out his mighty wings to their full length and soared into the nighttime sky. Prophet felt good for the first time in years, having finally struck back at the forces of evil that had plagued him for most of his life.
As the tiger angel, Aerylln and Dead Woman shot through the nighttime sky, Prophet looked down and saw a group of warriors riding like mad towards the castle. He noticed that a giant warrior was carrying the body of a young woman who looked just like Aerylln.
“Is that your body, Aerylln?”
“Yes.”
“Are you alive or dead?”
“Alive, for the most part, if my father doesn’t kill me for running off on my own. He must be furious with me.”
“Is he mean to you?” Prophet asked, anger rising within him once more.
“No, no, nothing like that. He just loves me so much that he never leaves me alone. He’s always nagging and telling me what to do. I don’t think he knows what it’s like to be young.”
Prophet almost laughed, greatly relieved to be hearing some normal problems for a change.
Flying close to Lord Pensgraft, the warrior angel eased Aerylln’s spirit back into her body, and the teenage girl immediately began struggling for air.
“Father, you’re holding me so tightly that I can’t breathe.”
Lord Pensgraft pulled up hard on his horse’s reins and came to an abrupt halt. “Aerylln, you’re alive!” he said, the relief readily apparent in his voice.
“Yes, a tiger warrior angel rescued me from Balzekior.”
“A tiger angel?” Lord Pensgraft smiled, not quite believing her.
“Yes, he was very brave and had large, powerful wings.”
“I’ll have to thank him sometime.”
“Father, I’m sorry I went off on my own. Are you mad?”
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said as he kissed her cheek.
In his eagerness to see his girlfriend, Marcheto galloped over and nearly plowed into Lord Pensgraft’s horse, but reined up just in time. Leaning over to her, the young wizard kissed Aerylln and said, “I’m really happy to see you.”
Riding up to them, Chen said, “I’m glad you’re back, Aerylln, we’ve been worried sick about you. But your baby sister and Genevieve are still in the castle.”
“Two tigers from Dominion Castle are here, and they want to help us.”
Just then, Chaktar came bounding down the road, going right up to King Tarlen and growling a welcome. He knew who the king was because Tarlen looked much like Chaktar did when in human form.
“GRRR, GRRR,” Chaktar growled as he pawed the air.
King Tarlen dismounted and stood before the huge animal. “Are you one of my father’s tigers?”
As if in answer, Chaktar bowed his head to his king and pawed at the ground.
“Well, I could certainly use your help. They’re holding my fiancée, the future queen, in the castle along with Chen’s and Lord Pensgraft’s baby.”
Chaktar growled angrily when he heard this. But then he nuzzled the king’s hand and ru
bbed up against him.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Chaktar nodded his head.
King Tarlen turned to Chen and Lord Pensgraft and said, “If that’s true, then this tiger is very special. He’d be a direct descendent of one of the original 12 tigers who saved King Ulray’s life.”
But Chaktar was far more than that, he was the great, great grandson of the bravest tiger of them all. Chaktar rose up on his hind legs and began walking towards the king. With each stride he turned more and more into human form until he stood before King Tarlen as a man. The family resemblance was obvious.
In stunned silence, King Tarlen took off his green Kardimont tunic with the tiger’s crest on the front and gave it to the naked man standing before him. They embraced and the king said, “For 30 long years, I thought all of my family was dead, and now I find that a descendent of my father’s best friend, a tiger-man he viewed as his twin, is alive. You are my cousin, but I will proudly take you as my brother. If times were less desperate, we would celebrate with a great feast. Instead, I must ask you to face death and destruction. Oh, brother, you could not have come at a better time for me, and a worse time for you. I sorely need your help rescuing Genevieve, my fiancée, and Dylancia, their child. The odds are overwhelmingly against us, but we must prevail.”
“Brother, my name is Chaktar, and my life is yours to command. Up until this moment, I had felt lost and alone in the world. So, I exaggerate not at all when I tell you that I would rather live for one hour as your brother than for a whole lifetime without family. I never believed this day would come, but there is one who did. He, too, is a descendent of one of the original 12. I guess, in a way, that makes him our uncle.”
“I’m eager to meet him. Is our tiger uncle nearby? What’s his name?”
“His name is Prophet, for he was always foretelling of your return to Dominion Castle and how you would reclaim it for the Kardimont line. And, yes, he is nearby. He’s the warrior angel who saved Aerylln.”
“Call me Tarlen. You of all can call me by my Christian name. But let me ask you, does Prophet view me as his king? Will he obey my commands?”
Chaktar looked up into the sky just above them and seemed to be listening to someone. After a few moments, the king’s brother said, “Tarlen, there is a majestic winged angel bowing before you swearing eternal allegiance to his king.”
“Can he hear me when I speak?”
“Yes, Tarlen.”
“Prophet, there’s no way our small band of warriors can storm the walls of Firecrest Castle. My first command to you is this, find us another way into that castle. Find a secret passageway and get us inside. Do not fail your king, for if you do, I’m certain your queen and their baby will fall into Swarenth’s hands. Find us a way in, Prophet, and find it now!”
With a mighty roar, Prophet launched himself into the air flapping his powerful wings in long, graceful strokes.
“I’ll give him an hour, but if Prophet doesn’t come up with something by then, I’m putting on the Crystal Medallion, and I’ll break down the front gate of the castle on my own,” Chen said.
“But Balzekior is here and is just waiting for you to do that. If you recreate the Trinity of Darkness, she’ll be released once more. Who knows what consequences that will have?” Aerylln said.
Black Scarlet wasn’t feeling very well. After so much stress and anxiety, Chen had a splitting headache and an upset stomach. So, ignoring the teenage girl’s warning, Chen said firmly, “One hour. Prophet’s got one hour. Then, I’ll literally unleash hell!”
Chapter 26
Firecrest Castle, a little earlier.
After being allowed upstairs, 20 gargoyles and five of Lord Ridgewood’s men were making their way towards the room where Genevieve and Dylancia were being held prisoner. One of General Zarkahn’s captains shouted to the warriors guarding the door, “Hey guys, we’re going to plan B.”
Genevieve was surprised by how friendly the captain’s voice sounded, given that General Zarkahn’s men had all been on edge since arriving at Firecrest Castle and were in anything but a good mood. The biggest problem was that Lord Ridgewood’s warriors were devoid of any sense of honor. Yes, General Zarkahn’s men embraced deceit and manipulation, but they kept it pretty much within the context of military strategy and political intrigue. However, the riffraff living at Firecrest Castle, infected by a degenerate criminal mentality, had such a warped view of right and wrong that even the general’s warriors found their behavior offensive.
Lord Ridgewood’s warriors were the vilest humans imaginable. Their clothes were worn and shabby. Their front teeth were broken, chipped and rotten. They had hard, shifty eyes and their language was coarse and foul. Many of the men had been pickpockets and thieves, so you needed to keep a hand on your wallet, and on your sword, if you didn’t want to end up dead. These vermin would kill a man just to get his boots or a warm coat.
And on top of all that, several of Lord Ridgewood’s 300 men who had stayed behind to protect Firecrest Castle, and who weren’t part of the attack on King Tarlen’s ranch, had their own ideas concerning what should be done with Genevieve, especially after seeing how pretty she was. The warriors who’d survived that battle wanted to kill Genevieve, but before they’d returned, some of Lord Ridgewood’s other men had met with General Zarkahn and tried to “reason” with him.
“Why not use her as a whore at Dominion Castle?” one man asked. “It’s not only a castle, but a sprawling city with hundreds of acres inside its walls. If you provide the woman, we’ll provide the business know-how.”
“Let her ply her trade in an alleyway,” a wizened, toothless old man said with a knowing wink. “Saves on overhead costs.”
Fortunately, General Zarkahn wanted nothing to do with Lord Ridgewood’s rabble. In fact, upon hearing this sordid suggestion, the general’s own warriors were totally disgusted. After Lord Ridgewood’s men had left, one of General Zarkahn’s men asked, “Why are we putting up with these losers and scalawags?”
Realizing that his men needed encouragement, General Zarkahn decided to reveal his long-range plans.
“When we get to Dominion Castle, the first thing we’ll do is continue ingratiating ourselves with Swarenth, while undermining Lord Ridgewood. Second, we’ll disrupt and destabilize alliances within Dominion Castle throwing things into confusion. Third, we’ll side with Swarenth in a resulting civil war. And fourth, we’ll assassinate him and install Chief Ambassador Valkira’s son as king. With any luck, we can be back on top in less than a year.”
After hearing this, the general’s captains realized that their master had a handle on the situation and was being his usual, practical, pragmatic self. Seeing the positive effect his talk had on his captains, General Zarkahn decided to further explain his plans.
“The biggest problem at Skybrook Castle was that we couldn’t throw the place into total chaos because that would have meant having to kill a lot of warriors we’d known for years. But this time will be different. We’ll only be killing gargoyles. We might even be able to get some of the warriors at Skybrook Castle to join us in this venture. We’ll gradually introduce more humans into Dominion Castle as we win Swarenth’s trust. When the time’s right, we’ll pluck Dominion Castle like a turkey.”
General Zarkahn’s men had heaved a sigh of relief. No one could plot strategy like their master, except for maybe the Fighting Eagle himself. General Zarkahn lacked Lord Stallington’s sense of justice, wisdom and humanity, but these shortcomings were overlooked, or simply ignored, by the men now hold up at Firecrest Castle.
“We can depose Swarenth and retake Dominion Castle in such a way as to allow gargoyles and humans to coexist. And we will have to coexist. There are 10,000 gargoyles and, even by then, there probably will only be a couple hundred of us,” General Zarkahn said.
“Those are good odds,” one of his captains laughed.
“History repeatedly shows that a minority can rule a majority if they divi
de and conquer,” General Zarkahn said. “With just 200 or 300 humans, we could actually rule 10,000 gargoyles.”
“How exactly is that done?” one of his men asked.
“When our position becomes stronger, we’ll heap riches upon the most powerful gargoyles. We’ll make them a part of the new power structure and lull them into a false sense of security. Using power and greed as enticements, we’ll make sure that their continued prosperity is bound inexorably to our own fate. We’ll soon have elite gargoyles controlling all the other gargoyles for us. And they’ll do it because it’s in their own best interest to do so.”
“Ain’t life grand?” one of his captains asked with a big smile.
General Zarkahn smiled as well and said, “If you men have the stomach for some pretty brutal measures, there’s no reason we can’t depose Chief Ambassador Valkira’s son within a few years. At that point, we can wage military campaigns against other regions using mostly gargoyle warriors. As we enlarge the kingdom, we’ll also be whittling down the number of gargoyles through attrition. Eventually, humans will once again be the dominant species and we’ll restore the glory of Dominion Castle.”
Well maybe, but then again, maybe not.
Restoring Dominion Castle’s former power was within General Zarkahn’s reach, but not its glory. And the one thing he was totally ill-equipped for was to restore its sanity. As a tactician and a fighter, the general was superb. But he had no real idea about what to do with life, what to craft it into, or how to set and reach noble goals. All he understood was control. The importance of instilling in everyone at Dominion Castle an overall sense of well-being was beyond his grasp. The Kardimont kings had been sensitive to such things, as had Lord Stallington, but General Zarkahn was not.
If you weren’t important to General Zarkahn’s current interests, then you were little more than expendable baggage. Although the general did make long-range plans, he frequently seemed oblivious to all but present needs. To him, you either mattered now or not at all. It wasn’t that he placed you in reserve, it was more like he never even knew you. For General Zarkahn, the depth of his world only went as far as the length of his sword.
