“Where are you going?” Aura called after her.
“I have an idea,” Taite said. “I shall see you later.”
Aura shook her head. “I hope you are not as impulsive as your father’s side of the family, my darling,” she said to Ashleen. The little girl simply giggled. Aura smiled at her. When she looked up again she noticed two columns of soldiers marching into Avonvale flying the banner of a wolf.
***
Sephene stared at the floor as she and Terrwyn strolled through the castle corridors, each carrying one of the twins. Azaleigh walked behind them.
“I cannot fault your brother,” Sephene said as they meandered along. “I knew he was in love with the seraph. He was honest with me from the beginning that he had joined with her. Still, realizing they have a child is…” Sephene let her voice trail off.
“It is difficult, I am sure,” Terrwyn finished for her.
“He loves me, though. I know that he does.”
“Of course he does, darling,” Azaleigh added.
“The child is special, though,” Sephene said.
“And the children you shall have with Erec will also be special,” Azaleigh said.
“Do not let it bother you, Sephene,” Terrwyn remarked. “With all of the treachery, debauchery, murder, and pain I have seen over the last couple of years, this seems quite mild.”
Sephene smiled. “I know, Terrwyn.”
“And Erec does love you,” Terrwyn continued. “I could see it in his eyes when he told me he was going to marry you.”
“Thank you,” Sephene said with a smile.
They stopped as they heard footsteps charging toward them from down the hall. Soon they saw Merdith round the corner, a smile beaming on her face. “Come quick!” she nearly shouted. “Staphon is here!”
It took all of Azaleigh’s discipline not to run off after her daughter, but she was a lady after all. Still, Azaleigh was the first to greet her son as he led the army of Greynault into Avonvale. Sephene, Merdith, Erec, Terrwyn, and Dillan were not far behind however. Azaleigh had tears streaking her cheeks as she embraced her youngest and only remaining son, his two older brothers having been killed during the recent war. His oldest brother, Auguston murdered by Anne just after she had poisoned their father, Lord Theron.
“I have missed you my darling,” Azaleigh said.
“It is alright, Mother…please,” Staphon said, slightly embarrassed. Barely over fifteen years old, Staphon was eager to be a man, but still possessed boyish qualities. He did not, however, want to be smothered by his mother in front of his men.
Sir Stanlas dismounted and gave commands to the army before joining Staphon and his family. Erec had offered the old knight a lordship following the retaking of Avonvale, but Stanlas had refused. He was old, had no heirs and thus no need for a lordship. He was quite content to remain in the service of House Greynault. After all, young Staphon would need guidance more than ever now that his father and two older brothers were dead.
Sephene and Merdith joined their mother in welcoming Staphon with hugs and kisses while Erec and Dillan greeted Sir Stanlas, eager to receive his expertise in the defense of Avonvale.
When Staphon was finally released from the embraces of his mother and sisters, Terrwyn wrapped her arms around his neck. “Why, you have grown into a man,” she said.
“I am fifteen now, Cousin,” he answered proudly. Terrwyn pulled away and smiled at him, fighting back tears she was never able to shed for Staphon’s brothers.
“Yes, fifteen,” she said, “and a warrior, too.”
Chapter 20
The wind whipped across the Scorched Mountains as Anne stood atop the spire of the White Fortress gazing south over the Middle Realm. The pain from her burns had subsided considerably, but the scars remained. The skin on Anne’s arms was shriveled from the flames. It now matched the side of her face burnt by Uriel’s flaming sword.
Anne was lucky to be alive. She was also lucky the shedom and seraph blood coursing through her veins allowed her to heal much more quickly than a normal human. Her conquest had been delayed, but not indefinitely.
“How are you feeling, Your Majesty?” came a familiar voice that Anne knew belonged to Asmodeus.
“Well enough,” she replied without turning.
“Enough?” Asmodeus asked.
“Enough to move forward with the invasion,” she replied.
“Excellent, Your Majesty,” Asmodeus said and Anne could hear the relief in his voice. She realized that the relief was mostly self-serving. She smiled at how worried the shedom must have been, fearing the retribution Shebath would have taken on him should Anne die.
“Is the army assembled?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the shedom hissed. “We have sent a force of drakmere forward to clear any resistance in our path. We should be clear all the way to Avonvale.”
“Excellent, General,” Anne said as she turned to face him. He stared into her black eyes and saw no humanity remaining there. The darkness that lived inside of her was in control now. Something about her gaze terrified even Asmodeus and he felt himself compelled to kneel before her. It was an urge he had always felt in the presence of Shebath, but no one else. Certainly not a human. As Asmodeus lowered himself to his knees, he realized she was not human.
Anne placed her black armored helmet upon her head, her reddish gold hair cut much shorter now after a length of it had been singed by the fire. She heard a screeching roar pierce the darkness as her drakon, Morgan, soared upward beating its great wings as it landed atop the spire. Anne climbed into the saddle upon Morgan’s back.
“Let us ride, General,” she hissed at Asmodeus in a voice not unlike that of a shedom. As the words left her lips, Morgan beat his wings as he leapt from the tower gliding downward to land before the enormous army of se’irim covering the hills just below the city of Caerwynspire.
Anne stood up tall, rising up from the saddle as she gazed over her assembled troops. “We march south across the Middle Realm today. There shall be time to burn and ravage and feast later. For now, we do not slow to do so. Once Avonvale has fallen, I shall allow you to roam free to have your way with mankind.” The se’irim grunted happily. “But not until I rule Avonvale. So let us make haste!” she shouted.
Morgan flapped his leathery wings propelling himself into the air where he joined Asmodeus and the other shedom upon their black dragons ready to move forward in conquest. Anne and Morgan flew in the lead as the se’irim sprinted along below them.
***
Erec ran and Ashleen chased him. She was fast. Not faster than Erec, of course, but then she was not quite six months old. He could not get over how big she was already. He remembered the stories of Alaric’s and Ehren’s son, Avon, and the other human and seraph offspring. They were considered giants. Erec had always thought those stories were myths—exaggerations at best. Now he believed them.
Ashleen laughed and laughed as she chased Erec. Terrwyn and Taite sat on the side of the hill, each holding a baby, cheering Ashleen and encouraging her to catch her father.
Taite bounced Alex on her knees as the little boy fussed. “You want to get out there and play too, don’t you?” she asked the small child. Suddenly he spat up a thick white liquid onto Taite’s dress. “Ew!” Taite said eliciting a laugh from Terrwyn. Terrwyn handed Taite a cloth as Taite handed Alex to his mother. Taite wiped the spit-up from her dress.
“When are you going to learn Taite?” Terrwyn asked. Taite shot her sister a sideways glance.
“Well, it’s not something you get used to,” she said as she tossed the cloth onto the grass.
“Sure you do, darling,” Terrwyn said as she handed Alex back to his aunt. “You used to spit up on me all the time. So, I eventually learned to keep a cloth handy and covering the area your little mouth was aiming for.” With that, Terrwyn leaned over and kissed Taite on the head.
They turned their heads as Erec shouted playfully. Ashleen had caught him and clung t
o his leg. Erec fell down. Well, he lowered himself down carefully, but all the while pretending to fall. When he was on his back, Ashleen ran up and leapt on top of his stomach causing Erec to grimace in pain and laugh at the same time. He scooped the little girl up and held her above him, pretending she was flying through the blue skies above. Ashleen giggled and giggled.
Suddenly there was a fierce roar, much greater than Avon’s, Bran’s, or Shimmer’s and Erec bolted up as Ashleen began to cry. “What was that?” Erec asked as he squeezed Ashleen close, trying to comfort her.
Terrwyn was smiling. “That, my dear brother, is Chaundra!” she said excitedly.
“The dracen queen?” Erec asked as he stood with Ashleen in his arms.
Terrwyn and Taite were already on their feet. All of them peered over the hill at the city where they saw the great dracen queen descending. From there, they could see the southern gates were open and soldiers were marching in. “Who is that?” Taite asked.
“The Clerics of Avalon,” Terrwyn informed her. She then turned to Erec. “Let’s go greet them.”
***
Erec’s eyes scanned the courtyard where men, women, and dracen gathered for the strategy meeting he had called. Erec smiled. “I want to welcome Queen Chaundra, Lord Caius, and the Clerics of Avalon to Avonvale. We are most grateful for your assistance.”
“It is our realm too, Your Majesty,” Caius said. “And it is the clerics’ duty to fight the forces of darkness to the death. All we do is train to fight shedom and se’irim.” That elicited pats on the back from both Lisabeth and Eamon who flanked Caius.
“Where were they during the last war?” Dillan said softly to Terrwyn, but she shushed him. Dillan caught Willem’s eye and could tell by his expression the King of Elophborne had overheard and agreed with him.
“I called this strategy meeting to get us all together and decide what everyone’s role is going to be,” Erec continued. “We have a lot of kings and queens and generals and commanders here. We cannot afford a petty power struggle when the fighting begins.”
“Agreed!” came Willem’s voice above the crowd. “It’s your party, Erec. I nominate you to lead us.”
There were general cheers and applause accompanying several “ayes” and “yeses” suggesting a vote would not be necessary. “Very well,” Erec said with a chuckle. “And to that end, I am appointing General Aura as force commander, unless someone thinks they could do a better job.” There was silence as all eyes fell on Aura. Sephene frowned. “Hearing no opposition, I shall turn it over to Aura,” he said then looking at her, “General…”
Aura stepped forward into the circle of men, women and dracen. “There are only two of us here that have ever fought the armies of Abaddock. I am certain Queen Chaundra will agree with me when I tell you that armies of shedom and se’irim are much more terrifying than those of drakmere.” Chaundra grunted.
“For those of you who don’t speak dracen, Queen Chaundra just agreed with the General,” Dillan volunteered.
“The enemy is descending from the north. Thus we shall position the clerics on the front wall as that will absorb most of the attack and they are armed with swords and arrows forged in Auraehalis.”
Suddenly Aura was interrupted by men on the walls shouting down at them. “Paladin!” a guard shouted excitedly. “The Paladin are coming!” The entire city turned out to see the forces from Caerwynspire, Talisaria, and Libetha riding through the streets of Avonvale.
Sir Rodrick galloped well ahead of the main force, into the the courtyard at full speed reigning his horse to a stop at the last second. He ignored numerous greetings. “There are thousands of drakmere behind us!” he shouted.
Aura glanced at Erec then Chaundra and then took in Terrwyn, Dillan, Willem, and Eamon. “Dracen riders come with me! We shall dispatch the draks,” she shouted.
“I shall carry you, General,” Chaundra said.
Aura nodded. “That would, of course, be an honor, Your Majesty, but I believe you should remain here. You are our greatest asset. I do not want you exposed too early.”
Chaundra released a sigh, but she knew Aura was right. “Very well, General,” she said. “You are in command.”
Chapter 21
Aura stood in front of Terrwyn, Dillan, Willem, and Eamon as the four nephilim mounted their dracen. She caught each one’s eye before speaking to them. “We shall fly in a wedge, and I shall take the lead,” she said. “Dillan and Willem behind me, and Eamon and Terrwyn behind them.” The nephilim nodded. “Once we reach the drakmere, we will destroy as many of them as possible and scatter them to the forests.”
With that, Aura turned her back to the nephilim and flapped her wings, propelling herself into the sky. The dracen followed. Soon, they were above Avonvale flying toward the northern hills on the other side of which they knew they’d find a large contingent of drakmere as described by Rodrick’s rear guard. Those brave men had fought the draks preventing the beasts from overtaking the main force for the last several miles of their journey to Avonvale.
It did not take long before the drakmere came into view. They were clearly undisciplined, having not formed into any kind of orderly ranks at all. The nephilim all marveled at how they were even coaxed to come all the way to Avonvale without a shedom keeping them together. It must be a powerful fear.
One after the other the draks began to notice Aura and the dracen. Shrieks of terror rang out. “Dive!” Aura shouted the command as she halted and hovered above the fray, watching. The dracen dove toward the drakmere breathing flames from their mouths as the draks scattered, fleeing in panic.
Terrwyn marveled at how easy it was to send these mindless beasts running for their lives. How different things might have been had Avon been with her when Avonvale was first attacked by the Wizard. His army may have disintegrated there on the spot. Then again, Rayfen had been there to ensure that did not happen. These drakmere had no shedom leading them.
The dracen flew in a line now and they pulled up in unison, communicating telepathically as they shot skyward. Aura was with them again in a flash. “Break ranks!” she ordered. “North, south, east and west! Send them running!” With that the dracen turned back toward the ground. Dillan peeled off and took the northern quadrant, Willem took the south and Terrwyn and Eamon took east and west respectively.
Aura remained above, observing the “battle,” if it could even be called that, and ready to assist anyone who needed help. She smiled to herself. Metatron and Chaundra had done an excellent job training the nephilim and dracen. Perhaps she had been mistaken. Perhaps they had a chance to defeat Shebath’s army after all.
As the thought flashed through her mind, Aura glanced northward from whence she knew the dark army would be descending upon them. As she did so, the smile faded from her face and her eyes grew wide as her optimisim evaporated. She turned her attention back to the dracen and nephilim.
“Return to Avonvale!” Aura shouted. “Now!” She gave the command verbally, but was too far for the nephilim to hear it. The dracen heard the command telepathically and could sense Aura’s fear. Aura did not scare easily and this caused the dracen to snap to obedience, flying away from the battle and back to Avonvale at blinding speed.
Aura stole one more glance at the imposing mass of darkness moving toward them. It was worse than she had imagined. None of them would survive this. She turned and flashed back to Avonvale.
***
Erec stood atop the castle keep holding Ashleen in his arms. Sephene and Taite stood on either side of him. Lord Galt, Sir Stanlas, Staphon, Sir Maxin, Lord Tibor, Karissa, Lisabeth, the Paladin, and several other knights and nobility were with him as well watching as the dracen decimated the drakmere.
Erec pointed at the glowing figure hovering in the night sky. “There is mommy,” he whispered to his daughter. Ashleen smiled. “Mommy,” she said and reached out her arms. Sephene watched the exchange. She was jealous of Aura, but not of this little girl. This was Erec’s daughter and s
he was accepting that little by little. They could make a family together.
Taite clapped when she watched the dracen dive to attack the drakmere and her excitement was echoed by many on the wall of the keep as cheers rose up from those gathered. Suddenly, everyone leapt back as the beating of wings were heard. Taite smiled when she saw the enormous owl flutter downward. “It’s alright!” she told the owl as she waved it down. The giant bird landed upon the parapet of the keep. Everyone watched in wonder as Taite spoke to it. Ashleen’s arm shot out and both Erec and Sephene shouted in fear that the bird would bite or claw the child, but the owl allowed her to pet him.
“Thank you for coming, Your Grace,” Taite said with a nod of her head.
“What is going on?” Erec asked his little sister.
“This is the oldest and wisest of the owls,” Taite exclaimed. “It is their elder, you might say. He is going to help us.”
“Help us?” Erec asked.
“Yes,” Taite said as she smiled up at her brother. “Help us fight the shedom.”
Erec chuckled. “I guess a little help is better than none at all,” he said. He then spoke to the owl. “We gratefully accept any assistance you may be able to provide,” Erec said with a respectful bow of his head, before adding, “Your Grace.”
Taite shook her head as she looked at her brother. “How many times do I have to tell you that the animals do not understand you at all?” She then turned back to the owl. “But I’ll relay the message.”
As she did so, Erec’s attention turned back to Aura, Terrwyn, and the others fighting the drakmere. They were returning now. Quickly.
Chapter 22
The shedom flew over the realm on their black drakons while the se’irim ran along below with impressive speed and endurance. Anne smiled as the city of Avonvale, already in sight, grew closer and closer. Soon, they reached the hills just north of the city where Anne expected to find the force of drakmere waiting for them. She had a special mission in mind for the draks.
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