Shiver shook his head. “A friend told me not long ago that the moments for idle chatter have passed. What are your terms?”
Meerum smiled. “You have become curt during your seasons. Please, dismount. This war is pointless. Can we not seek a diplomatic resolution? I am, after all, your grandfather.”
The Isorian king sat in silence as he studied Meerum’s countenance.
“Please, Shiver. Let us forgive the past and speak as gentlemen. If we’re to battle, let us at least enjoy the pleasantries of a final conversation. I want to know my grandson before he meets his end.”
Shiver looked over his shoulder at the ruby eyed man. After Gablysin shrugged, the younger king made the decision to dismount to show his bravery.
“Wonderful!” Meerum exclaimed as he watched Shiver drop to the ice. “Despite our differences, it appears you’re capable of making wise decisions after all. And to think I had believed you to be hopeless.”
Shiver crossed his arms. “It appears you believe slander makes for good compliments. I should’ve stayed on my harugen, old man. Perhaps my ability to make a proper decision remains flawed after all.”
The Tormalian King chuckled as he turned to look at his commander. “My grandson is bold for his seasons.”
Grandon nodded. “He’s Tormal. What did you expect?”
“Nothing about me is Tormal!” Shiver snapped. “I’ve lived as Isor, and I will perish as Isor. If only I could strip the gills from my back, I would throw them in your face.”
Chuckling, Meerum responded. “That could be arranged.” The king looked beyond the back of Shiver’s harugen toward the Isorian army. “Your men are no match for mine. They’re outnumbered.”
Gablysin was the one to respond. “Two to one is fair odds for an Isorian. Our men shall fight like beasts.”
“I could end your men myself. They’re defenseless against my magic.”
Shiver took a step back and stopped within arm’s reach of Gablysin. “Your magic will be ineffective on this Peak. You’re a feeble, old man, and a fool’s army follows you into battle.”
Furious at the insult, Meerum lifted his right hand and sent 1,000 needles in Shiver’s direction, but the result was not what the Tormalian King expected. Instead of his magic ending Shiver, it bounced off the younger king’s skin and fell to the ice as harmless projectiles.
From behind the Isorian lines, Gallrum clapped his claws as the Isorian army cheered for their king. The serwin’s wings fluttered as he hovered just high enough to see overtop the ranks. “I knew he’d try something!” he boasted as he looked down at Gage.
Gage uncrossed his furry, little, robe-covered arms as he tried to look between the rows of blue legs in front of him. “What did he do?”
Gallrum grinned. “Well, he didn’t hug Shiver, that’s for sure. It appears there’s no love lost in this family. He just tried to end his own grandson. It’s good the priestess decided to protect them from his magic.”
As the badger used his power to lift himself off the ground to levitate eye-level with Gallrum, the serwin continued. “Look. You can see the anger on the Tormalian’s face from here.”
Meerum stared at Shiver.
The Isorian King smiled. “As I have said, Grandfather, your power will be ineffective on this Peak. Go back to your army and make your advance.” The young king crossed his arms and glared into Meerum’s eyes. “I dare you! Or perhaps you could stay, and I shall slap you around in front of your army.”
The Tormalian King did not waste his breath on a response. Instead, he grabbed his Frigid Commander’s arm and teleported to the back of his army’s lines. When they reappeared, Meerum ordered the Frigid Commander to the top of his harugen and then shouted. “Charge!”
As the Tormalian King teleported onto the back of his own harugen, Grandon reiterated the king’s order, shouting, “Well what are you waiting for? Charge!”
As the Tormalian army rushed out onto the roof of the hollow, Gablysin hollered, “Oh, garesh!”
Gabs grabbed Shiver by the arm and pulled him up as he commanded the beast to skitter toward their army.
The pounding of the Tormalians’ feet sounded like thunder as they gave chase.
Gablysin and Shiver had not even reached the safety of their side of the hollow before the ruby eyed man called out to Jeromas, “Sound the horns! Sound the horns!”
By the moment the trumpeters received the order, the Tormalian army was within 500 paces of the Isorian lines. Six hundred trumpets were lowered into holes that led down into the hollow and blown. Far beneath the roof of the cavern, the 7,000 harugens reacted. The pitch of the horns hurt their ears and caused them to panic. It did not take more than a few moments before the majority of the pillars had toppled, but the result was not what Shiver and Gablysin expected.
The roof of the hollow held firm. The ice was too thick, and the Tormalian army was still advancing. But now, spears from both armies were filling the sky.
Shiver extended his arm and used a shield to block a Tormalian spear from hitting Clandestiny. He shouted, “If the roof of the cavern doesn’t collapse, we can’t win! You must roar, Clanny! Roar to buy us the moments to retreat!”
With the Tormal now only 200 paces away, Clandestiny lifted the Tear of Gramal from her neck and commanded, “Move the army back, and have them cover their ears!”
Seeing that the Tormalian army would arrive before her order could be carried out, Clandestiny decided not to wait. The Tear in her hand began to glow as she took a deep breath. After rearing back, she lunged forward and released the mightiest roar she had ever summoned. As her call filled the morning air, both armies were frightened, and the spears from both sides stopped flying as the Tormalian army stopped their advance.
Clandestiny roared again to ensure the enemy would remain at a distance, but during this series of moments her roar had a much greater effect. Not only did the enemy stay back, but the ice beneath their feet weakened, and it was beginning to crack.
From the top of his harugen, Meerum’s Frigid Commander lifted his hand. “Stop moving!” he shouted. He now realized his men were standing on a trap. As he looked around, the ice could be heard popping in every direction, and nearly the full strength of his army was in jeopardy.
Shiver placed his hands around his mouth and called across the ice. “No one has to perish on this Peak, Commander! Order your army to yield, or she’ll roar again! You don’t want your men to fall to their demise! Our people don’t need to end one another to find peace! Only your king needs to perish!”
The Tormalian Commander looked over his shoulder in the direction of Meerum. His king was standing on the back of his harugen, and his withered arms were flailing about, imploring the commander to advance.
Shaking his head, Grandon turned to find Clandestiny. Her chest was still heaving, and she was waiting for the order to roar again.
As he turned to pass his gaze across the expanse of his army, Grandon knew that one more roar would carry their ends with it. “We surrender!” he shouted. He turned to find his Frigid Omayne who was on a harugen of his own not more than 15 paces away. “Have the army lower their spears! Do it slowly, and make no sudden movements!”
Far behind the Isorian lines, the real gashtion had heard Clandestiny’s roar, and she had made her way to the surface. Though she was still a great distance from the Isorian lines, she released a roar of her own.
As soon as the gashtion’s call reached Shiver’s ears, the Isorian King looked out across the roof of the hollow. Despite the roar coming from a distance, it was still loud enough that the ice beneath the Tormalians’ feet was effected.
As the popping intensified, Shiver shouted an order in Grandon’s direction. “Commander, order your army to retreat! I’ll consider it an act of peace! They’re not safe where they stand!”
Shiver’s concern for Grandon’s safety made the Tormalian Commander realize he was fighting for the wrong side. He looked over his shoulder in Meerum’s directi
on. The Tormalian King was still screaming profanities, and though Grandon was not able to understand what Meerum was shouting, he knew enough to surmise that his king was threatening to end him if he did not order the Tormalian army into battle.
Grandon spit in frustration, turned to face Shiver and then called out, “Make room! My army shall no longer fight a fool’s fight! We’ll stand at your side and face the gashtion together!”
Shiver was about to accept the commander’s pledge and order his army back from the edge of the hollow when the real gashtion roared again. With her cry being louder than the first, that was all it took. The roof of the hollow gave way.
The look on Grandon’s face as he plummeted to his end with more than 27,000 Tormalians was forever burned into Shiver’s mind as their screams filled the morning air.
Medolas and the High Priestess were standing at the southern end of the hollow when it collapsed. They were waiting for the order to destroy the wall that was holding back the ocean. But as it turned out, the order would not be necessary. With the weight of the Tormalian army and the roof hitting the floor of the hollow all at once, the wall holding back the ocean cracked, and a moment later, it crumbled. The sound the torrent water made as the ocean rushed in to fill the expanse of the canyon muffled the real gashtion’s third roar.
Back on the front lines, the Isorian army was not prepared to fight the gashtion. The beast was too powerful, and their numbers had dwindled throughout the seasons because of the Tear’s absence. As planned, most of the men ran for the alcoves of safety while others waited for their king’s orders.
Before Shiver could devise a plan, Clandestiny’s eyes began to change. Her irises turned to slits, and her voice sounded like a beast’s. “Order the army to flee!” she growled. “I’ll fight the gashtion!”
As Clandestiny finished speaking, the bones of her shoulders broke and pulled away from their joints as she began to assume the form of the gashtion. Her fingers began to elongate, and her nails turned to claws, and the pain of the transformation was evident as it consumed her face.
Gage and Gallrum sprang into action. They teleported and reappeared a fair distance away beyond the alcoves of safety, between the charging gashtion and the rest of the army who were running toward the beast to get to the alcoves. Seeing the size of the beast, Gage shouted so Gallrum could hear his voice overtop the monster’s thunderous footsteps. “Take my paw!” With Gallrum’s claw in his grasp, Gage extended his free paw and summoned the power to create a massive, protective wall of force.
Meanwhile, Clanny’s transformation continued. The size of her neck expanded as those around her moved away. It was not long before the knotted, leather strap holding the crystal snapped, and the Tear of Gramal fell to the ice.
Gablysin rushed in to retrieve the Tear, but just as the ruby eyed man was about to lean down to pick it up, Clanny fell to the ice. The transformation caused her right leg to extend, and she kicked the ruby eyed man on his left hip.
The force nearly knocked Gablysin off the edge of the cavern and into the raging water.
Shiver was quick to react. He ran to Gabs’ side and helped him up off the ice. “We’ve got to get the men out of here!” he screamed.
As the Isorian King helped the ruby eyed man hobble past Clandestiny toward the alcoves of safety, the real gashtion slammed into the invisible barrier that Gage and Gallrum had summoned. The cry the beast made as it collapsed onto the ice forced the entirety of the army to place their hands over their ears, but the magic the goswigs used to slow the beast’s advance was lost. The force of the collision had destroyed the barrier, and the power to summon another wall of that magnitude would not be available to the goswigs for a considerable amount of moments. Gage and Gallrum were left with no choice but to retreat as the gashtion struggled to pick herself up off the ice.
Meanwhile, Clanny was quickly growing and showing no signs of slowing. Not only was her skin changing color, but she was already more than 70 paces from the tip of her tail to the end of her muzzle, and scales were now forming at a rapid rate.
For those men who remained awestruck by the transformation, Shiver shouted another order to capture their attention. “Clear the ice! She’s dangerous!”
As the real gashtion continued to shake off the effects of the collision, the goswigs vanished and reappeared near one of the alcoves. A few moments later, the beast began to stumble in the direction of the men who still remained above the ice.
With the alcoves resting a fair distance away, the men who had reacted to Shiver’s order rushed across the ice, but not all of the king’s men would reach safety before the gashtion was finally able to resume her charge and close the distance.
With the weight of the gashtion causing the ice to quake, Timus and his brother, Amos, both born on the same Peak and only 40 seasons of age, realized they would not make it to their alcove. Their pysples gripped the ice as they slid to a stop to reverse their direction of flight. As they ran back toward the cavern, they looked over their shoulders as the gastion’s massive claws tore chunks out of the ice. All Amos could shout as they ran was, “Garesh! Garesh! Garesh! Garesh! Garesh!”
With the gashtion nearly upon them, her mouth lowered in their direction. She was about to chomp when suddenly the weight of Clandestiny’s new form flew over the brothers and collided with her enemy.
Both gashtions tumbled across the ice. The sounds of their growls forced the army to cover their ears as they huddled within their alcoves.
With the beasts sliding to a stop, Timus looked at Amos. The brothers shouted, “Holy garesh!” They turned and ran for an alcove.
As Clandestiny reared up, she brought down one of her massive claws and clubbed it against the side of the real gashtion’s head. The collision was so loud it forced the men in the alcoves closest to the beast to cover their ears yet again.
With her gigantic mouth, Clandestiny lunged forward in an attempt to bite the real gashtion’s neck, but the beast was quicker than she was. Using the back side of one of her wings, the gashtion knocked Clandestiny to the ice and then returned to her feet.
Clandestiny rolled into a readied stance and did not waste a moment. She charged. The collision took both gashtions toward the edge of the hollow that was now completely filled with water. As they landed, a large section of ice broke away from the rest and fell toward the waves that were crashing against the walls—taking the Tear of Gramal with it.
The light of the sun reflected off the Tear’s many facets as the gem fell toward the water. Though it was only a brief moment, the reflection caught Meerum Bosand’s eye just before it hit. The Tormalian King screamed, “Noooooooo!”
The king grabbed the reins of his harugen and commanded the beast to skitter toward the edge of the chasm. As he looked down, the men who had fallen to their ends could no longer be seen. The rush of the ocean had claimed their bodies, along with the chunks of ice from the roof of the hollow. They had been flushed to the north along with the harugens that had been sacrificed as the water from the ocean rushed past.
This was Meerum’s only chance to secure the Tear and accomplish his ultimate goal of knowing the power of the gashtion. Without wasting another moment, the Tormalian King removed his cape and then used his power to protect his feeble bones as he dove from the top of his harugen and fell more than 15 paces before he disappeared beneath the water.
As Meerum began his frantic swim into the depths of the cavern, Clandestiny used her back claws to throw the real gashtion off of her. The beast landed on top of one of the alcoves that was closest to Shiver and Gablysin’s. The ice above the Isorians’ heads gave way, and over 180 men inside the alcove were crushed.
Shiver turned to face the 200 men who were in his alcove with him. “Clear out!” he shouted. “Run for the tunnel, and flee to Hydroth!”
With the Isorian King’s men scurrying across the ice, Shiver and Gabs ran from alcove to alcove and commanded the army to flee while Clandestiny and the gashtion thrash
ed about. Shiver stopped. One of the gashtions screamed as the other bit a chunk out of its shoulder.
Shiver grabbed Gabs by the arm. “I hope that wasn’t her!”
“How do you tell?” Gabs replied. “They look the same to me! Come on! We’ve got to get the men out of here!”
The ice continued to quake as both men resumed the task. But before the final alcove was cleared, one of the gashtions fell to the ice. The sound its limp corpse made as it collided with the shelf caused Shiver to redirect his gaze. As his eyes passed from the surviving gashtion to the men who were fleeing in the distance, a hopeless feeling encompassed his being.
Clandestiny rose up and roared. She then lowered her eyes to study her surroundings. Her breathing was frantic, and she could see the army fleeing. Though they were on her side, she desperately wanted to end them all. The power that was surging through her had control of her soul, and she craved more. With the sun nearing its peak, Clanny focused her dragon eyes on the men closest to her. Despite the 300 seasons she had spent with the Ko-dess to prepare for a Peak such as this, she began to stalk the ones she had been entrusted to protect.
Seeing the gashtion’s intent, Shiver screamed, “Garesh! That’s not her! It’s going after the army!”
It was easy to see the desperation on the ruby eyed man’s face as he responded. “What should we do?”
“Yell! We must make her come this way!”
“Have you gone nordel?” Gabs rebutted.
Shiver shrugged. “Better us than them! Hope you’re ready to run, old friend!”
Before Gabs could respond, Shiver began waving his arms and shouting to get the gashtion’s attention.
“You are nordel!” Gablysin shouted. A moment later, he lifted his arms and began screaming just as loud. But no matter how much they called out, their efforts would not be enough to get the gashtion’s attention—and now Clanny was running toward her next victims.
The Tear of Gramal Page 48
