I let out a long breath and clutched my chest. “Okay. Just checking.”
“You were a paranormal researcher, one who considered all options, with an open mind. That is yet another thing I admire about you, and I implore you to do so now.”
“Yes, we must look at everything from all angles. We can’t rule anything out. I’ve learned nothing is impossible.” I sighed and glanced around as the warm air beat across my face.
“Now that the winged beasts are gone, let’s explore. Perhaps we can find someone to talk to.”
“I’m not sure it’d be so wise to introduce ourselves to the locals,” I said, shivering in spite of the blistering heat. “Why don’t we see if Lana is still by the portal door? I’d feel better knowing she is, knowing we have a way out. Then I’d be willing to do a little exploring. Exploring hell would be a nice addition to my paranormal résumé.”
He chuckled. “We are still near the entrance.”
I surveyed the landscape once again. “Right, and if Lana truly put us here on purpose, she’ll be long gone. Let’s hope that’s not the case.”
We talked some more and decided that the best course of action was to see if we had, in fact, been led straight into a trap. We didn’t want to waste hours looking for King Taggert if he wasn’t even there. The thought of being trapped in such a place was unsettling. Will I give birth here to my daughter? What kind of life will this be for her? What about my parents, our son? They will never know what happened to us.
We started walking back to the portal, hoping against all odds that Lana would be there, ready to open the door. My nerves almost got the best of me, especially when horrendous screeches pierced the air. When I glanced up, I saw a few of the pterodactyl-like creatures above us, shrieking and spreading their wings wide.
One swooped down at us like some kind of kamikaze, and Victor swiftly reached for his sword and stabbed deep into its belly. It let out an ear-splitting cry, then flew off. Another attacked, and I drew my sword. I knew it was probably a bad idea to make it angrier by engaging it in battle, but we had to protect ourselves. As Victor and I bravely fought it, more came. I looked for shelter but saw only barren, sandy desert and towering, jagged rocks. We had little chance of fighting so many creatures at once, but we made the decision to bravely stand our ground and didn’t run away.
While Victor fought a few screeching birds, one hopped on the ground toward me. I tentatively stabbed at the towering creature. It had a huge wingspan, and long, dark horns protruded from its head. It opened its huge mouth, flashing a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. I would have done anything for my powers at that moment, but I had little hope of that. When it let out a screech and hovered a few feet from the ground, flapping its wings, I knew it was time to land some heavy damage. Gutting the giant winged reptile was my only chance, if I could even get close enough to do so without getting killed.
It flapped its wings again, and the gust of air about knocked me down. It swiped at me with sharp claws, but as soon as I jumped back, it came at me again. My sword clanged as it hit the thing’s hard claws. I attacked the creature with everything I had. When its head came at me, I banged it so hard with the sword that the animal began to stagger like an old drunk, momentarily dazed. I looked over at Victor and was glad to see he’d just delivered a fatal blow to the enemy he was battling.
Suddenly, a creature’s claws lifted me into the air.
“Victor!” I shouted.
He ran toward me, frantically screaming my name, as the thing started to take off with me. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past me and stuck the flying creature in his wing. More arrows flew in our direction as the creature zigzagged to the ground like a damaged plane. It let go of me as it fell, and I crashed to the ground, a few hundred feet from the ailing beast. The other monsters flew off, as if startled and scared.
“Are you okay?” Victor asked.
“I’m good,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “Where did you get arrows?”
“I didn’t.”
I cocked a brow. “Then who helped us?”
“I did,” a man in a black robe said, walking toward us. He held up his crossbow and explained, “The arrows were poison. That monster will die soon.” When he took down his hood, I was flabbergasted.
“King Taggert!” I squealed. “You’re here! You’re really…alive!”
“Yes, it does appear that way, my dear.”
Victor pulled him into a bear hug, and as soon as Taggert broke free from that embrace, he walked over and hugged me.
“We’re going to get you out of here,” I said.
He smiled. “I heard my old friend reaching out to me. This place is designed to block powers, but I did sense it.”
“I’m so glad you received the message, my King,” Victor said.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” King Taggert said. “How did you find me?”
“I cannot take credit for that, Majesty. It was Sarah.”
He raised a brow and looked at me questioningly.
“My visions,” I replied. “They led me here, and we got the shape-shifters to open the portal door.”
“Who put you here, in this eternal prison?” Victor asked.
“Ethano ordered my execution, but his wife made the knights swear they wouldn’t kill me. She sent me here, and she told Ethano and everyone else I was dead.”
“Why would she spare you?” he asked.
“Could a daughter allow her father to die?”
“Wait. She’s…your daughter?”
“Yes. I gave her up for adoption. She hasn’t forgiven me and is fueled by anger and hatred. She placed me here for revenge. She just couldn’t bring herself to kill me, her own flesh and blood.”
“She’s evil,” I said, recalling how Gwendolyn had betrayed us.
“Yes, I fear that the one she is married to has infected her soul with much wrath.”
Victor sighed sadly. “I don’t know what happened to her. Being married to Ethano took her down a dark road.”
“Well, at least she isn’t wearing the ruby ring,” I said as the strong wind blew my hair all around my head, making me feel a bit like Medusa herself.
“He refused to bond with my daughter that way. He considers it weak and pathetic. I’m glad he has not connected with her on a deeper level, for he’s done enough damage to her already. Maybe there’s hope for her yet.”
“You must get her away from him,” I said. “She tried to send me to my death!”
“I’m sorry, dear child. I truly am.”
“Ethano has taken over our world,” Victor said. “He’s almost destroyed everything we’ve worked for.”
“Ethano will take the smallest advantage. With the slightest misstep on your part, he will quickly move in for the kill. He is as relentless as he is brutal.”
“And heartless,” I chimed in.
“Yes, my dear. He is that too,” Taggert agreed. “Let’s end this, shall we?”
“Yes. We’ve got a war to win,” Victor replied.
“The people need to know you are alive, King Taggert. Their loyalty lies with you. Ethano must be defeated, at all costs, so we can restore order and bring peace to our land.”
He nodded. “I have some strategies we can try. In this vile place, I’ve had nothing to do but ponder them.”
“I say we keep them guessing. They have to think we have the upper hand. We need to put on our best poker faces and pretend we’re holding a royal flush.”
Victor and King Taggert cocked their brows in confusion.
“Never mind, fellas,” I said, laughing, “but I might just have to play a hand with you sometime. From the looks of it, you’d be easy pickings.”
Victor and King Taggert shrugged and began discussing military plans, then walked off through the rock-strewn wasteland.
A loud crack that sounded like thunder echoed across the sky.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Nothing good,” Victor replied.
Chapter 27
The evil creatures stirred above us. More of those wretched birds came back, this time with backup. Hundreds of them swarmed in the air. Their loud screeches and cries sent shudders through my whole body.
“Great. It’s the vultures on steroids again. Run!” I shouted.
We ran using our immortal speed as the creatures flew to catch up with us. We were fast and got one heck of a head start. Having that kind of speed sure came in handy.
“Where’s the portal door?” I asked.
Victor spun in a slow circle. “Right here!”
We screamed for Lana to open the door.
It wasn’t opening! Why wasn’t it opening?
My gosh!
We never had the chance to check like we were going to previously do.
My heart thundered.
Please open!
“Is this the right spot?” King Taggert asked.
“Yes,” Victor said.
The large pterodactyl demons squawked louder.
“They’re coming!” I said.
Victor shot me a desperate look. “We can’t just stay here.”
“We need to take cover,” the king said.
“We can come back,” Victor said.
No, I didn’t want to be stuck here for another minute. “Lana!” I shouted.
I felt around in the air, looking for the invisible door. It had to be here. It just had to. They wouldn’t leave us trapped here. Would they?
Victor drew his swords and King Taggert got his arrows ready.
Their massive, flapping wings sounded like thunder and their ear-splitting screams made me jump.
We’re screwed!
If we didn’t move an attack was imminent.
One with glowing eyes let out another beastly scream.
Was I staring death in the face?
I was frozen in place. I knew I should run but I was hoping that door would open, that Lana would somehow hear us and know our plight.
A bright flash of light sprung to life with a loud hiss.
The portal!
And when the swirling entrance appeared, I’d never been happier. It was the most beautiful sight ever!
Giant claws reached for us. With immortal speed, we hopped through the portal.
BANG!
The creature crashed into the portal. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw its huge, wrinkly, ugly head sticking through the portal opening. Lana chanted some kind of spell, and the portal disappeared, along with the bird’s head.
“That was close,” I said, jumping into Victor’s arms.
The shapeshifters greeted us fondly. They were on our side and I couldn’t be more thankful. I felt bad for not trusting them.
“Thank you, Lana,” I said.
She smiled.
I clutched my chest and sighed in relief.
“King Taggert!” Lana said. “Welcome back.”
“Hello, child. It’s great to be back in my kingdom once again.”
Victor looked at the others with excitement in his eyes. “Well? What are you waiting for? We have a kingdom to reclaim.”
A short while later, we made our way back to meet with some of our men, who warned us of the huge battle that was taking place. We rushed to the location and got there just before the combat began.
I hoped the resurrection of King Taggert would stop the war and put Ethano in his place. “Where is he?” I asked Victor, seeing no sign of the rescued king.
“He had to go elsewhere for a bit.”
“And you let him? We need him here.”
“I assure you that he will be back.”
“Did he go alone? He needs to be protected every moment. Ethano will kill him in a heartbeat.”
“He took a slew of my best men. He’s in good hands.”
Two armies lined up on opposite sides of a huge battlefield. I stared at Ethano’s army and loudly broke the news to them that their real king, King Taggert, was alive. They laughed at me and let out a long stream of curses, not believing me for a second. We desperately needed Taggert to show himself.
I watched my king address his troops, pumping them up with victory speeches. He spoke with all the passion of a Superbowl coach, with such conviction that his troops had no choice but to rally with him. Victor was amazing, and I was flabbergasted by how easily he took charge. He truly was a warrior king, and his knights hung on his every word. All over again, I felt proud to be married to such a man.
“Today is ours! We fight for freedom!” Victor finished. “Today, we shall rid this world of Ethano and his tyranny!”
Like a true warrior king, Victor led his men into battle. As the enemy commander set his battle line in motion, Victor ordered his troops to attack those who were riding to the right of them for a sneak attack. A trumpet blew, and our knights advanced, with their shields up. Victor then led his men with a quick charge, letting out loud battle cries. Without fear, they ran directly into combat. They maintained formation so that their left and right side was protected.
When no one was looking, I ran off into the group of knights to look for King Taggert. I searched for what seemed like eternity. I used my immortal hearing and followed his voice. When I spotted him, I grabbed his arm. “I’ve been looking for you,” I said.
“I am calling additional reinforcements, dear Queen.”
“Who?”
He smiled. “The guardians will heed my pleas. I’ve called every dragon, every supernatural creature I know. Ethano will meet his match today, and he and his men will fall, by sword, fang, or claw.”
“Highness, you can stop this war, end all the bloodshed,” I said. “I tried to tell them that you are back, but they just laughed at me. If you’ll just show them that you are, in fact, alive—”
His gaze narrowed. “No one can stop it. Even my presence won’t make a difference. The poor souls have all been brainwashed by Ethano.”
“So what do we do?” I asked.
“We fight!”
“Give them a chance to know you’re alive,” I said. “Maybe we can save people from endless death. Every life counts, fooled by Ethano or not.”
He gazed at me. “Very well, Sarah. We’ll try it your way first,” he said. “I don’t want my own people’s blood on my hands.”
I nodded, and we hurried back to make an adjustment to our plans. A short while later, a group of knights galloped between both armies, with me behind them. One blew a loud conch shell horn, and the raging battle stopped momentarily.
“This fight, this war, is over!” I shouted from atop my horse.
More horses galloped toward us from the left, right between us and the enemy.
I motioned to them. “I present to you Taggert, your mighty king!”
King Taggert slid off of his horse, and everyone froze, as if someone had pressed pause on a DVD. They stared at him like he was a ghost, in stunned disbelief.
“How dare you fight against your own king?” he roared. “Are you really such a treacherous lot that you would side with the likes of Ethano?”
Mutters and whispers quickly spread among the knights.
“I am King Taggert, your true king, and I am very much alive. Why are you fighting against Victor, my most trusted knight?”
The knights were dumbfounded, stumped, and confused, trying to discern whether they were really seeing the king or merely an illusion.
An enemy lowered his sword. “What kind of magic is this?”
“It’s no magic,” King Taggert said. “It is really me. I was held against my will, in a hellish portal, at the hands of Ethano’s bride. Victor and Sarah rescued me from my immortal prison.”
There was silence for a moment, and then, just like that, many men in the battlefield, on both sides, bowed to show their loyalty and alliance. Some even threw down their swords.
“How could you serve a man who tried to poison me?” he shouted to those who were still standing and gawking at him.
“Please forgive us, Majesty,�
�� a man screamed. “Forever live the true king! All hail Taggert!”
“King Taggert, King Taggert, King Taggert,” the group chanted, their battle-scarred faces beaming with happiness.
Some still insisted that it was a trick or some kind of elaborate hoax devised by Victor. Because some believed and some didn’t, complete chaos broke out. The believers came over to our side and swore their everlasting support and allegiance. At that point, all hell broke loose, and the nonbelievers, the doubters, drove into us. Our knights thrust against their opponents, striking with long spears.
“My Queen,” a knight yelled from behind me, “we are here, forever at your service. Forgive us for our foolishness.”
“No forgiveness is necessary,” I said. “Thank you for joining our side.”
“It’s an honor, Highness.”
I was ecstatic that such an elite team showed up to help us. They included archers, mages, knights, and cavalry, and they would be a great asset. I had hoped that King Taggert’s presence would stop the war, but since the enemy was ready and waiting, so were we. They marched toward us with archers in the front, infantry behind them, and cavalry on the flanks.
Fireballs from other immortals came at us hard, from every direction. As a glowing ball of energy went straight for King Taggert, I lifted my hands and created a shield. The powerful and lethal ball bounced off and crashed into a million embers on the ground.
Afterward, I peered into the enemy ranks. Angry men roared and grimaced, fighting hard with spears and axes. They seemed so dedicated and loyal to Ethano, and I had no idea why they’d fight for such a madman.
More arrows rained down on us, whooshing past our heads and into the ground. Even my powers couldn’t protect everyone, and their archers were relentless, firing from the front line without stopping, coordinating a barrage of arrow attacks. Like cowards, they quickly retreated behind their infantry as we inched forward. The archers were very mobile because they weren’t weighed down by heavy armor.
Our knights held their shields and spears tightly in their hands and stood shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield, creating a wall. The fight continued, and our spearmen broke our opponent’s line of defense. We assaulted them from all directions and even took down their mounted troops. When we breached their first line, troops from the second and third battle lines filled the gaps, and there was no shortage of them. We marched in tighter formations, ready to form a shield wall in any direction if the need arose.
Eternal Conflict - Book 7 (The Ruby Ring Saga) Page 20
