Offspring (The Sword of the Dragon)

by Appleton, Scott

  Specter had been grappling with his adversary through the night inside a ruined building. Now in the daylight he gritted his teeth and drove his blade into the Reaper’s leg, pushed him against the stone walls. Death fell again, and this time Specter fell upon him and tore his scythe out of the Reaper’s boney fingers.

  He lifted his face toward the sky and laughed as the Reaper squirmed beneath him. Its feet and hand transformed into smoke. “Oh, you cannot run forever! I have seen the wickedness you and your kind would unleash on this world, and I loathe you. Now with the help of God, I bring you to a just end.”

  Holding the scythes tightly, he clubbed the Reaper’s skull until cracks spread through it. He hammered the scythes into the skull in quick succession. Fury filled his arms, and Death’s skull broke into a thousand fragments.

  Something exploded on the ramp above, and he stood to his feet, holding the Grim Reaper’s headless body in his hand. Oganna fell off the ramp, and Avenger slipped from her hand. She crashed into a ruined building, stirring a cloud of dust.

  A giant arrayed in armor unlike anything Specter had ever seen dropped after her. The giant raised a wizard’s staff in its hand and crouched over the dragon’s offspring. He held his blade-ridden fist against the young woman’s lovely face and viciously cut it open. Oganna’s body collapsed and, in the stones beside her, Avenger’s blade ceased to glow.

  “Master! Let me finish her.” A dark-featured human stumbled up the heap of stones to the ruins, leaning on a dark staff.

  Razes glanced down at the man and laughed. “You have a lot to learn, Auron. You fell at the hand of a girl? Wait until Letrias hears of this.” He stood aside and pointed at Oganna. “She’s all yours.”

  Specter roared with rage and dragged Death’s carcass into the sunlight. He raised his scythe and faced the giant, rolling the Reaper’s remains down the rubble. The carcass slid to Razes’s feet.

  The giant picked up the carcass, and his eyes narrowed.

  Specter caused his cloak to render him partially visible and set his feet in the debris, frowning at Auron. “Rise, traitor!”

  The man spun, glanced at Specter, and stumbled back. He pointed the staff at him. “W … what? Who are you? I do not know you.”

  “Think again, Auron. You know me better than your new master knows you.” He slipped the hood off his head and smiled. “Brian’s blood stains your soul, and now I will exact retribution on you so that none will forget the cost of shedding innocent blood.”

  “No!” Auron’s lips trembled, and he shook his head vigorously as Specter advanced, rattling his chain mail. “I saw you fall. I saw you die.”

  “Hmm.” Razes laughed and kicked his pupil toward Specter. “It looks like you have a fresh opportunity to prove yourself, Auron.”

  “This man—he died long ago—I saw him die.” He stepped back. “Master, do not make me face him. You must slay him now, before he brings death upon us both.”

  Razes shrugged his enormous shoulders. “Very well.” He swung his staff, but it passed through Specter as though he were a ghost.

  Specter swung his scythe, cutting the traitor’s arm. Auron screamed and then struck back with such speed that his staff cracked Specter on his cheek, and he fell into the rubble.

  Auron sprinted after him, thrusting his staff into Specter’s mid-section. But Specter kicked the man in the chest and, when he had fallen, laughed. “God has shown me favor today, Auron. Your master cannot touch me while your traitorous debt remains unpaid. Did you believe escape from the Creator’s retribution would be possible? Were you fool enough to rank yourself above the will of Providence?”

  The traitor stood and swung his staff at Specter’s legs. Specter blocked it with his scythe’s handle. “You can never beat me trading blow for blow, Auron. Or have you forgotten?” He spun, cutting the man’s side with his scythe blade.

  Ilfedo wiped his brow and paused a moment to allow the sword of the dragon to reenergize him. All night he had been fighting. All night the sword had kept him from tiring, and now he stood far ahead of his army and his friends. He thrust through another giant, and another, and another. One more approached, and he jumped into the air, holding the sword above his head, and cracked the giant’s helm. After landing in a crouch, he spun. Fire spewed from the blade, and he straightened and stepped past giant human torches.

  He crested the valley’s rim and glimpsed the megatraths fighting around the ramp to the citadel. Dead and dying littered the city. The knowledge that Oganna was there too drove him mad, and he continued on without consideration for the danger. He descended into the city by way of the roads and fought within visual range of the ramp.

  Then he saw her glowing silver figure, and the giant man opposing her. The giant blasted the ramp, and she fell a long, deadly distance into one of the demolished buildings. Her adversary leapt down after her.

  His daughter, his most precious companion! He cried out, and his sword burned those closest to him. He stabbed and hacked all in his path as if they were hay in a field until at last he stood at the base of the ruined structure. The giant with his back to Ilfedo laughed hysterically and pounded the now-almost-unrecognizable body of Oganna. The wizard spun his staff to strike again and spoke to the motionless body. “You have failed, young one! But at least you died at the hand of I, Razes.”

  Ilfedo smashed his fist into the giant’s lower back and toppled him with a stiff kick to the back of his leg. Razes’s head crashed into a large stone, and when he picked himself up, he had to wipe blood from his mouth.

  25

  A JUST RECOMPENSE

  In Ilfedo’s hand the sword of the dragon blazed as never before, and the living fire upon his armor burned with unparalleled fervor. He felt the rage boiling inside of him, and when he looked again at his daughter, he was filled with hate. He stepped over a foundation stone and held his sword with both hands before his face. Only one thing mattered to him now: vengeance.

  The giant looked down at Ilfedo and spat. The staff in his hand dripped with Oganna’s blood.

  Ilfedo stepped closer. “Don’t you dare touch my daughter again.”

  “And what if I do?” the wizard mocked. “Will you kill me?” He spun his staff and scoffed. “Do you think that I fear you? You are lower than the dust and worthy only to be ground into powder. Your body will hang in my hall alongside that of your daughter, and it will be a warning to all that oppose me in the future.”

  “You are mistaken, wizard, for it is you that will be an example to my enemies. And when this day is done and your soul has fallen into eternal darkness, then I will laugh at your corpse and feed you to the birds.”

  Razes stomped toward him and sneered. “Prepare to die!”

  A series of cries and roars echoed around him. Caritha appeared from behind a pile of rubble. She pulled her rusted blade from a giant’s breast and let him fall beside her. Another rushed her from behind, but his eyes opened wide, and he fell forward. Laura took her blade from his back and stood side-by-side with her sister. Beyond them, cutting a path through the enemy masses, charged Levena, Evela, and Rose’el. They reached Caritha and Laura, then formed a line.

  Rose’el eyed the wizard. “So, this is the big, bad enemy. I’d expected more than a coward that cripples young women!”

  “Just say the word, Ilfedo, and we’ll help you cut him into a thousand pieces.” Caritha stepped through the rubble, and her sisters formed a half-circle around the giant.

  “Yeah.” Rose’el pointed her blade at the giant’s head. “I’ll take that off!”

  Razes advanced and spread his arms. “Is this supposed to make me afraid? You are like insects beside me.” He beckoned to his forces, and a line of giants stamped toward the Warrioresses.

  The sisters touched the tips of their blades together and sent out wave after wave of energy into the giants’ midst. The wizard’s forces fell back, their hair smoking and their faces red. Ilfedo let his sword shoot fire from its tip and addressed the giant
. “It looks to me like you are outnumbered.”

  Cackling, the wizard raised his staff at the sky, and lightning struck the ground, opening a large hole. Razes sneered and looked into its depths. “Come, my children, you have work to do.” Out of the hole slithered a multitude of vipers that swarmed around him in a protective circle.

  Ilfedo dashed to Caritha’s side and shook her shoulder. “Get Oganna out of here! I’ll keep him busy.”

  The sisters climbed the rubble into the ruins and looked upon their young charge. “No, it cannot be!” Levena clamped her hand over her mouth.

  Evela screamed and tears ran down her cheeks. Laura closed her eyes and knelt in front of Oganna.

  Rose’el swallowed hard. Her body trembled, her shoulders quaked, and her eyes moistened. “Is she already gone?”

  “Hurry, she isn’t breathing!” Caritha grabbed Oganna’s blood-soaked legs, and Laura held her arms. Both of them gasped and stared in horror at the mutilated face.

  “Is she, is she, is she dead?” Laura choked back a sob.

  “Not yet. Come on!” Caritha said.

  Levena, Rose’el, and Evela charged into another wave of giants, stabbing every which way. Caritha and Laura grunted under their burden as they followed the path over the dead and dying that the sisters created. They carried Oganna along the highway. As they approached the valley’s rim, a shout caused them to look up.

  Ombre and the Elite Thousand crested the hill. The warriors of light stretched in both directions for as far as Caritha could see. The giants were losing ground, and the swords of light could be seen everywhere, piercing hearts and severing limbs.

  The regular army charged into the city, leaving heaps of dead giants in its wake. When they reached the citadel, they protectively surrounded the surviving megatraths. Hopefully Oganna’s friend, Vectra, was among them.

  Caritha helped Laura set Oganna down on soft grass. All five sisters knelt around her. “What can we do?” Evela cried. “She looks dead already.”

  “But she isn’t. Not yet.” Caritha drew her sword and touched it to Oganna’s chest. The others followed her lead. “Draw upon the strength that Father gave us, the powers within—use it up if necessary—drain yourself completely of it if necessary—feed it into her.”

  The viper’s head peeked from under Oganna’s collar. It rubbed its head gently on the young woman’s neck.

  Caritha sent the powers within into her sword, and the weapon glowed. Tendrils of blue and red light latched on to Oganna’s chest from all five swords. Caritha screamed in pain and her sisters soon followed. It felt as if the fabric of her existence was ripping out her heart. But she held on as the power left her blood.

  A cocoon of light cascaded around the body, and through its veil she saw Oganna’s wounds close and the blood dry. The energy receded and snapped back against the swords, throwing Caritha against the ground. When she sat back up, Oganna’s chest heaved steadily, and her eyelids fluttered open.

  Caritha embraced her and cried on her shoulder. The others wept too, for Oganna’s beauty was forever gone. Her face and arms bore the ugly scars inflicted on her by Razes.

  “It’s all right,” Oganna said through her own tears. “I’m here. I’m alive.” She gazed heavenward. “Thank God for that.”

  The sisters looked at each other, unable to reveal the horrible truth. Oganna’s eyes froze on her arms. Her skin felt rough, rather than smooth. She felt her face and the realization hit her. “I’m—ugly.” She buried her face in her hands and wept.

  Caritha and her sisters tried to comfort Oganna, but they could offer no consolation. How could they? They hadn’t lost their beauty. And so they cried with her until a tremendous explosion rocked the earth and they spun around.

  Rose’el pointed to the base of Ar’lenon. “Ilfedo! What does he think he’s doing?”

  Ilfedo drove his flaming blade into the ground at Razes’s feet and blasted the rocks out from under him. As the wizard’s vipers sailed through the air, he directed the sword of the dragon at them and roasted them alive before they touched the ground. He slammed his shoulder into the wizard’s abdomen and brought his blade around in a swift arc, slitting the giant’s arm just above the elbow.

  Ilfedo’s army swarmed into the street, and the wave of giants fled. Razes screamed at them, “Back you fools! Destroy them.” He cocked his arm and thrust his blade-ridden fist into Ilfedo’s chest.

  Ilfedo stumbled. He glanced down at the deep wound. But how had the wizard penetrated the armor of living fire? Ilfedo felt faint. The world spun around him, and he fell. As the world darkened, Razes cackled.

  Suddenly the sword burned his hand, forcing him to drop it. It hovered in the air above him and shot the living fire into his body. It felt as if he had gone from a frigid night’s chill to the warmth of a sunny day. The blood stopped flowing, and his flesh healed without so much as a scar to show for the deadly wound.

  Razes stepped back, and Ilfedo saw astonishment in the wizard’s face.

  He grinned. “Nice try.” He rose, took his sword in hand, and stabbed into the ground. The stones and dirt blew up again in the wizard’s face and threw him into a wall of stone. Before the giant could rise, Ilfedo shot fire from the sword of the dragon. The wizard held his staff in the flame’s path, and it absorbed the living fire.

  Ilfedo jumped forward, smote him on the chin, and cut the wizard’s staff in two. He stepped back, hoping to receive the giant’s surrender. Instead, small orbs of energy formed in the wizard’s hands.

  “You think that you have defeated me?” The wizard eyed his orbs greedily and then chucked them in rapid succession in Ilfedo’s direction.

  As the orbs broke harmlessly on the sword of the dragon, the sword left Ilfedo’s hands and hovered before him. He felt as though he had left his body and lay inside the sword. He shot like an arrow straight into his opponent’s heart. When it was over, he returned to his body and opened his eyes.

  Razes slumped against the wall, and his remaining orbs fizzled out of existence in his hands. His eyes froze open and his breathing stopped.

  Ilfedo grabbed hold of his sword, drew it from the corpse, and sheathed it at his side. The armor of living fire gave way to his everyday apparel, and he walked out into the city. He could see the last of the giants scrambling out of the valley, heading north, and he knew that they would not be coming back. Several Art’en flew above the giants, yet they too did not glance back. Heaving a sigh, he walked down the highway, stepping over the bodies of the giants on his way.

  Ombre rode toward him and wiped his dirty blade on his trouser leg. “It is done, Ilfedo. I don’t think those giants will give us any more trouble. The Hemmed Land is safe.”

  “How did our troops fare?”

  “They did well.”

  “Casualties?”

  Ombre shook his head and lowered his gaze. “Yes, there were some.”

  Caritha tapped him on the shoulder, and he realized that all five sisters and his daughter were standing by him. Oganna’s scarred face startled him, but he caught himself, reached out, and clutched her to himself. “It’s all right, my daughter. The wizard is dead.”

  “Father, I am—I am ugly!”

  Tears poured from his eyes, for he knew that it was true. “The blame rests with me.” He choked on his words. “I should not have allowed you to come here.”

  “No!” another voice rumbled from the streets. “I am to blame.” Vectra stumbled toward him with her head lowered. Blood ran from the many wounds she’d received, and her eyes overflowed until she too wept.

  Oganna broke free of her father and ran to the trembling creature. She reached out and laid her hand gently on Vectra’s snout. “It is no one’s fault, Vectra. What is done is done.” She wiped her cheeks and continued. “Though I am ashamed to show this face in public, I do not hold you or anyone else here responsible for it. Did you draw the blades across my face and mutilate me? No. You would never. Razes alone carries the blame.”

/>   Ilfedo counted the megatraths gathering behind Vectra. Twenty-four remained out of one hundred. He shook his head. Seventy-six dead.

  “Oganna, Vectra … let’s gather the dead and head home. Tonight we will camp along the border with the northern desert. There is fresh water there and space for our numbers to spread out.”

  Oganna shook her head and looked at him with her blue-gold eyes. They were still as beautiful as the day she was born. “I want to stay here for a while. There is one giant in this city that deserves a proper burial, and I intend to give it to him.”

  Vectra sniffled. “Indeed he does.”

  He started to beckon the Warrioresses over, but she stopped him. “Please, Father, I want to do this alone—unless—unless Vectra is willing to stay with me.”

  The megatrath rested a hand around Oganna’s shoulders. “I would have it no other way.” Vectra bent down, and Oganna straddled her neck. As the pair went off, Ilfedo heard Vectra command the remaining megatraths to follow his orders and leave her behind.

  He organized his troops and the megatraths into bands to collect the dead. Using material from the demolished buildings, they constructed large sleds, then they laid the dead on them and hauled them toward the desert. Ombre sent messengers ahead of them to the Hemmed Land and to Resgeria to both report the battle’s outcome and to bring more manpower.

  Within two days reinforcements came and the last of the dead were hauled out of Netroth. Ilfedo mounted his Evenshadow and rode out of the valley. Only once did he stop to look back. The mighty citadel, where he had last spotted his daughter and the megatrath, stood as a grim reminder to him that all great things that have a beginning also have an end.

  He wheeled the Evenshadow stallion and rode after his army. Maybe during this time alone Oganna would find peace with her new condition and realize that the love of those around her did not depend on her physical appearance. He had survived, and so had she. What more could he ask for?