Tyrosh ran back down the tunnel, jumping from the cliff face that led into her parents' home. She took off, feeling deprived. Not even the wind gusting across her wings could soothe her. Her mother and father had denied her dragonweed, Tyrosh couldn't believe how greedy her mother had become. They also told her that killing Martell would undermine her son, robbing him of the glory before him. Tyrosh almost didn't care. It took every ounce of her will to resist the urge to go to Martell and take the Breath of the Titans for her own. In her heart she knew that Lov should be the one to control the Titans, she had crossed to the other side. She felt a darkness growing inside of her, since she had given into her dragonhunger too completely.
The wind screamed across her wings as she crossed the sea, coming into the farmlands her son would need to traverse to reach Heart. The farmers and people there represented a small army, but she knew the Titans far outnumbered them. They were the danger to Lov's army. She would need to thin their ranks to give her son a better chance.
And so began her own personal crusade, she spent most of her days tearing into the Titans, killing them with traps and breath and just plain bare hands. But it seemed for every titan she killed, two more appeared from the furnaces of Heart. Her son would need to hurry before his own army was swamped by the empty suits of armor.
Lov shook his head as he watched his mother fly overhead. He rubbed his ear in frustration, looking back to the farmer across the negotiation table from him. “Are you really going to try and sweat me as I attempt to find a peaceful way to resolve this? You do realize my army would roll over yours in an instant.” He demanded of the old farmer before him.
The old man snorted Lov's anger away as if it didn't matter. “Of course I am. I don't have any promises that your army won't just tear up our fields.” The man leaned forward, shaking his finger under the young chief's nose. His Talons struggled to contain their mirth, seeing their arrogant leader being chastised. “And while you may be able to kill most of us, the ones that survive will harry you all the way to Heart.”
Lov sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “Listen, all I want is to reach Heart and remove Martell from power. The only reason I'd have to attack you is if you tried to stop me on my trek. Are you going to do that?”
“Of course not, we're not stupid. But we don't want you just coming onto our land and foraging it to the dirt. Our families need to eat too.” The old farmer pointed south to Heart. “Families have started moving into Heart, they had been hoping to pass through the city, but some kind of a vegetable jungle blocks the way. Are they going to be safe when you reach the temples?” The farmer turned his eyes back to Lov, eyeballing the young leader. He sat there arrogantly, his features those of an elf, but his skin was rough and scaly. As the old man watched this young fool before him, he watched the patterns in the young half-elf's scales shift. It reminded him of a stormcloud preparing to release its load of rain. “You know, even just sitting there you look dangerous. I've lived on this world at least eighty years, and in all that time I think you are the only thing that scares me more than a Titan.”
The old man gestured back to his camp, bringing over his subordinate. “Tell the boys to let him through. I'm sure there are only nine or ten more groups he'll have to negotiate with before he hits Heart.”
“Thank you. Please, tell your soldiers to spread the word. I'd rather not have to kill any family members.” Lov stood, turning back to his army. Nord got the Anuunaki moving again, and soon they were headed towards Heart, passing empty farms.
Lov had prayed that the old man had been joking, but he hadn't been. The army had slowed to a crawl as they crossed the farmlands. The farmers wanted assurances that they would receive reparations for any damage Lov's army did. The young chief was getting the feeling that he spent more time negotiating with these people than he did actually traveling.
Even now he sat across from a barrel chested farmer. The man looked in the prime of his life, groomed simply and plainly. “So you can't go farther. The Titans have started to tear up our fields and slaughter our families. And it only seems to get worse the farther into our country you come.”
Lov looked to the sky, feeling a sense of rage fill him. He slammed his hand down on the table. “Are you kidding? The only way to stop them is to take out Martell! Just sitting here doing nothing will do nothing!” Lov rose from his chair, approaching his own army. “You have a day to decide. If you aren't moved, my army will force our way through.”
The young chief passed through his lines, leaving the man he'd been negotiating with behind, a stunned look on his face.
Chapter Twenty One
“The arrogance of those bastards!” Lov yelled at the ceiling before getting control of himself again as he walked into the tent. Nord could tell Love was angry.
Lov looked to his uncle, who sat, calmly eating his dinner. “I'm starting to believe we should just force our way through.” Nord reached down, scratching an itch on his leg. “Sanche and I were just talking about that last night. They're slowing us down to a snail's crawl!”
“No, you can't do that, Lovonian.” Nord said, dropping his fork and walking over to tower above his nephew. “Think of how you'd react if someone were to do that to us. You don't even need to think. We're headed to kill the leader of a nation because of acts of war like you just proposed!”
Lov snarled at his uncle, glaring at the man who tried to diminish him with his height. “I am. We're avenging your brother, my father. And they're in our way!” The young half-dragon grabbed Nord's plate, throwing it at the tent wall. He just got angrier seeing that it hadn't broken. “Are you telling me I'm supposed to just sit here? At any second now a force of Titans can ride up on our backs! We need to get to Heart before we're surrounded!”
Nord started to laugh, softly, but it got louder as time went on. Before long, he was rolling on the ground. Jaxon came into the tent, wiping his sweaty brow with his hat. “What the hell's going on here?” He asked, looking back and forth between the two men.
Nord sucked in deep breaths of air, catching his breath. “My nephew here has just told me he never pays attention to the reports I send him.” Nord started to giggle again, and struggled to get it under control. “He thinks a Titan army is going to sneak up on us now.” The tall general couldn't contain it anymore, rolling on the ground, pounding his hand into it as he gasped for air.
Jaxon raised an eyebrow, looking to Lov. “Seriously?” Lov nodded, and then the little man began to laugh. A deep belly laugh that soon had tears streaming down his cheeks. “Oh my gods, that's perfect.” Jaxon struggled to catch his breath, turning to his tall friend. “Well, Nord, at least we know the army's in good hands. Totally keeping up on everything we do.”
Nord quit laughing, jumping to his feet. He was all business now. “If you'd paid attention to the reports I send you, you'd know that the Anuunaki scouts see your mother out scorching the Titans to nothing but molten metal. I don't even know why you have this army anymore.” Nord went to his chest, pulling out a deck of cards. Jaxon sat across from him, and the tall elf dealt. “There's nothing between you and Martell but yourself. I'll keep the orcs in line, make sure they don't kill any villagers or strip the fields so bare we can't grow crops after the takeover. You go take care of business. Maybe you can make the old coot turn his soul around, now that the Titans are all melted down.”
“You idiot.” Lov said, walking to the table. He flipped it into the side of the tent. “It's not over until he doesn't have the Breath of the Titans. With that, he can build another army in a week.” Lov sat on his uncle's trunk, the last seat open in the tent. “And even if my mother is killing all the Titans she sees, she won't attack the city. She reveres Dalanar's memory too much.”
Nord nodded his head at his nephew. “I can't argue that. There still would be a few too many for my liking. Tell you what, you go take care of Martell, I'll be sure to keep a close eye on your army. Maybe I'll even be able to get them in position to assau
lt the city. But I can tell you right now, if you want to avoid killing innocents, your best bet is to send someone to kill him.”
Lov snorted. “There's no one I'd trust enough. Think about it. As soon as Martell is dead, they have the most powerful artifact in the world at their disposal! Not everyone has your fine moral upstanding, Uncle. You might be right though. I'm going to think on it tonight.” Lov slapped his thigh before raising to his feet and walking from the tent. Nord had given him a lot to consider.
As he walked across the camp to his own tent, his Talons took up position. They spread around him in a tight net, but Lov had convinced them they didn't need to shove everyone out of his way. For a while, they were getting violent. One guard stood with him, her hand on his chest while the others entered his tent. Lov shook his head before he asked her, “Seriously? Three of you to check a personal tent?”
“Charlot would kill me and my daughter if you were to die. So yes, I'm cautious.” The other Talons left the tent, and she gestured for him to enter. “Don't be so smug, or I'll make sure all of us that think you need a mother are put in charge of your guards everyday.” She kicked him in the butt, and Lov stumbled towards his tent.
“Better be careful, I might just die in the night just to spite you.” Lov walked through his tent flap, emitting a low throaty growl while the other guards laughed at their leader.
“Laugh it up. Remember, if he dies, it's your asses too!” They took up position around the tent, ready to defend their young chief.
Chapter Twenty Two
Water splashed on Lov's face, and he spat and sputtered. He'd have to set a decree, the next person that woke him with water would be buried in the dirt, up to their neck. Orcs were crude. A few hours like that, as others stopped to urinate and defecate on the buried person, the rude awakenings would stop.
Lov sat up slowly, glaring at the woman who had thrown it on him. “Isn't it someone else's turn to torture me?” He asked pulling his pants on.
“Probably, but I thought you needed more lessons. I'll be riding with you today, just to help you.” She sat on his chair, his only chair, waiting for him to finish getting dressed.
“I don't think so.” Lov protested, pulling on his boots. They still looked perfect. “I don't need a mommy.”
“We disagree. So, we Talons have voted and decided we need to stick someone to you. We voted for the one we thought annoyed you the most. Here I am.” She smiled at him, predatorily. It reminded Lov of how Draka had looked at him before.
Martell stretched, reaching up to touch the ceiling. He reached to his bedside table, pulling out a cotton ball on a stick to clean out his ears, but stopped himself halfway there. He shouted, jumping from the bed and doing a quick circuit around the room. “Finally I have my body back!” Martell started to dance in joy. He had missed the ability to control his limbs. He reached up and felt his hair, touched the long bushy beard his controller was forcing him to grow. He was thinking of shaving, when he realized he was still the Titanbringer. The old man sent a questing tendril of his awareness into the Breath of the Titans and the cloudy bloodstone swirled as he sought out their senses.
He found them, looking through their eyes. Hearing the sounds of battle. He watched as the Titans slaughtered innocent farmers and their families, and he was disgusted. He determined then and there to never let anything like this happen again.
Just as he was sending out orders to make them stop the senseless violence, Martell felt control ripped away from him. It was painful, filling him with more anguish than he ever imagined. He heard a deep booming voice inside of his head. It echoed as if it were ricocheting through a valley. Next time you try to stop my plans, I'll make you cut off your own nipples. Then I'll move onto prying off finger nails. And I'll make you do it to yourself. Don't try to order the Titans again. They're MY toys.”
The voice left, the pain leaving with it. He was again a prisoner inside of his own head. An overwhelming sense of despair filled the old man. Once again, he was a spectator to whatever controlled him as it prepared for the day. Martell felt his heart breaking as he lost his hope. A realization came over him as he watched the grooming pattern in the mirror, he would never be his own man again.
Nord cracked his neck and knuckles. The past week the army had been moving slowly, lucky to make more than five miles in a day. He took his knife out, picking at his nails as he negotiated with the leader of the small army before him. “We've been traveling for weeks across the land. We haven't raped or murdered, nor have we pillaged or looted. Why can't you all just let us through? Can't you see we want to save you from the Titanbringer?”
The young man before him had a stalk of wheat in his teeth. He chewed at it, lifting his straw hat from his brown hair to scratch at his scalp before speaking. “We appreciate that, truly we do. But we have reports from closer to Heart.” The farmer shifted in his seat and crossed his ankles before putting his muddy boots on the table. Now Nord itched to do the same. The farmer continued, “Every step closer to Heart your army takes, the more violent the Titans become. Now I don't know about you, but I'm all about saving my family.”
“My army's here to stop the Titans!” Nord replied, he was becoming exasperated. “There has to be some kind of compromise. I need to get closer to Heart. Lov needs a distraction.”
“You mean that young upstart everyone told me I'd have to deal with? All I can say is, thank Dalanar he's not here.” The farmer put his feet down, leaning close to whisper to Nord. “These men are proud of their land and heritage. They only want to protect their families, they won't attack you if you don't move towards Heart.”
Nord nodded before reaching out a hand to the man before him. Dealing with these farmers was annoying and frustrating. But they were honest, and didn't hide things from you. Nord appreciated that. “I understand completely. The elves were wiped out by the Titans.” Nord rose from his seat, turning and looking back at his army before finishing. “I just hope your people don't suffer the same fate mine did.” The tall skinny elf left the negotiation table. He'd have to pawn the responsibility off on Jaxon. Maybe the halfling could get these people to be reasonable.
The sky started to darken as the clouds above them gathered into massive thunderheads. A flash of light lit the world bright white, before the loud rumble of thunder washed over the gathered armies. A deep loud voice shouted out from the farmer side. “Funnel!” Other voices took up the cry, pointing to the sky. Nord turned back at the commotion, seeing most of them pointing up. Others were running around in a panic. Nord looked where the men pointed and watched as a tendril of air swept down from the sky, kissing the ground.
The farmers moved quickly, gathering their things and abandoning the field in what Nord would say was record time. Within a few moments, the field was empty save for Nord and his army. They could hear the wind whistling and roaring as the twister approached them. It picked up dust and debris, hurling large boulders and relics from times long lost in this land. The tornado turned towards Nord's men, moving at a slow but steady pace closer to them.
The tall general cracked his neck and rubbed his ears for good luck before turning with a grin to the Anuunaki that had carried and guarded him at the negotiations. “Spread the word, we need to move!” He jumped onto the ant-like being, pointing away from the twisting currents of air that barreled down upon them. The army was moving quickly, Anuunaki picking up orcs that refused to come, and carrying them away from the danger. Small rocks began to rain from the sky, one of them clipped Nord across the top of his head. He almost lost his hold on the Anuunaki he rode, managing to latch onto it firmly before he slid from its body.
Nord turned his head back, looking to see how close the tornado was. It was gaining on them, and growing in size. Larger rocks and clods of grass and dirt began to land amongst the fleeing army, knocking orcs off of Anuunaki. To their credit, the chitinous men tried to avoid stepping on the fallen ones, but none stopped to help them up. The twister was too close.
A flash lit the sky again, turning everything white, as the fur covered arm sailed through the air. It reached out to smack Nord across the back of his head, like he used to do to Jaxon. The arm finished the job the rock couldn't earlier. Nord slumped and slipped from his mount unconscious before he hit the ground.
Peth, the Anuunaki carrying Nord, knew he couldn't abandon their leader, stopping and stooping to pick up the rail thin elf. The ant man buzzed in agitation as he tried to pick up Nord. The elf was an awkward dead weight that shifted and turned in the Anuunaki's grasp.
The tornado continued to barrel towards them, and by the time Peth felt comfortable carrying Nord, it was right on top of them. The wind screeched and screamed through the air, the gusts trying to lift the Anuunaki and the tall man from his shoulders. Peth pushed himself, running faster across the plains.
He could see small animals and large pieces of debris flying in the air and the world around him began to darken as the debris pressed in on Peth and his burden. A wagon wheel whistled through the air, passing just in front of the ant man, causing him to hesitate a step. The wind caught him and Nord, lifting them from the ground and carrying them away on the currents of air. Nord was ripped from the grasping Anuunaki's hands, twisting and turning away deeper into the debris field. Peth lost all sight of the army as the tornado sucked him farther into itself. He lost consciousness as something smacked him in the face, joining Nord in a world of blackness.
Breath of the Titans: The False Titanbringer: Complete Trilogy Page 42
