With his last bit of willpower, he silently prayed for his life, and then the darkness won.
Chapter 36
Juxta woke to a splitting headache. He looked around and walked back a ways to get his arcane staff. The cat stayed by his side the entire time brushing up against his leg over and over.
Juxta found his horse and rode hard for two more days to his grove. He grasped the orb and focused all his power on it, borrowing from the trees even. The orb only showed blue skies with little fluffy clouds here and there. He walked his horse back to his home crying. Timothy noticed his anguish. Robert looked him in the eyes. "Lisa's alive. She bore you a son."
Juxta's eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. "Where are they!"
"They headed west. The priests are maintaining a powerful ward around her."
"Is it her will, or the will of the priesthood that she's apart from me?"
"I don't know," Robert said as he shook his head. "When she cried out to you, I raced to look in on them, and I saw them leaving."
"Damn it all!"
Juxta's power raged like a torrent for days. Neither Timothy nor Robert went near him.
Chapter 37
In Juxta's rage, his powers shook the heavens and earth just enough to wake the fire in Rivek and Balron. Rivek could talk to Balron in hell, and Balron's wishes were clear. With Juxta distracted, the time was ripe to retrieve the crown and great sword from the clutches of King William.
Rivek rode his Hellsteed through Lynken, passing through whole towns like no more than a breeze. He slew peasants with his mind out of sheer malice, if they merely looked at him. When he reached the castle gates, the guards shouted down to him, "Who goes there?"
Rivek smiled. He reached into their minds and took control, forcing their bodies to turn the levers to open the gate. Then he snuffed them out like candles. Rivek reveled in his own power, almost wishing Juxta would notice his presence, but Juxta was far too consumed. Rivek could feel Juxta's rage from miles away. Rivek worked his way into the castle proper. He encountered guards, but he easily snuffed them out. When he reached the King's chamber, two guards stood posted at his door. Rivek smiled and walked up to them. Both drew swords and charged, but Rivek simply raised a hand to them and threw them down the corridor.
He kicked open the doors to the king and queen's bedroom and announced himself, "Hello!"
The king sprang out of bed and pulled the great sword from its scabbard.
Rivek drew a force line around his throat and lifted him off the ground. The queen shrieked. Rivek silenced her with the wave of his hand. He walked up to the king's struggling form and drew his curved knife. He tied more force lines around the king to hold him steady. He surgically cut open his chest and removed his heart damning his soul to never rest, at least according to Necro-lore. He turned on the queen and cut out her living heart.
Then he picked up the crown and great sword and walked out of the castle back to his Hellsteed, cutting down anyone that noticed him enough to slow his progress. He left the city in haste, with crown and sword in hand. He dropped the hearts into a gully after a few hundred miles.
Chapter 38
Juxta lay in bed, staring at the ceiling when a loud knock thumped on his front door. He ignored it. He heard Simon shout. "Juxta, we need you."
Juxta sat up slowly. He walked downstairs. "What is it?"
"Just come along. Do you have your orb?"
"No. What is it?"
"You have to see. Come on."
Juxta sighed, for he wasn't interested in riddles. He went and gathered up his amethyst staff and Hebron's Orb. He joined Simon. "OK."
Simon hopped on his horse and kicked his heels into its rump steering it towards the castle. Juxta ran to catch up, and soon they galloped through the streets. When they passed through the castle gate, Juxta felt a lingering stench of a Hellsteed. "Rivek has been here!"
Simon nodded. "Yes, Juxta, Rivek has been here." Simon hopped off his horse, not even bothering to tie it up and started a brisk pace towards the upper levels of the castle. Juxta hurried to follow. When Juxta realized where they were going, he took off in a run.
On reaching the king's quarters, he turned and looked in the room. There was blood everywhere. The king and queen were both covered by bloodstained sheets. William kneeled at his parents' bed crying with Teresa kneeling next to him holding him.
Juxta said, "My liege!"
William stood and turned to face Juxta. Somehow he had gotten the blood all over his shirt and face. William looked at his friend. "Rivek has become more powerful than we could have imagined because you killed him and let them recover the body. This is your fault."
Rollin said, "My king, Juxta isn't to blame for this…"
There was a long silence while William simply stared off into the distance, and the others tried to look away from the carnage. Teresa still cried.
William whispered, "Find him."
Simon said, "My lord?"
"I said, find him!"
Juxta said, "I've tried."
William glared. "Try again."
Juxta sighed, but he reached into his pocket and withdrew the orb. He summoned a great torrent of power and focused on Rivek, tried to think only of him, to connect to him, to be him if need be. At first there was no inkling of a sign, then a flash of color, then back to nothing.
Juxta let loose the power, enough that curtains on the walls ruffled. "I can't."
William nodded. He started pacing in a miniature circle. On his third turn, he stopped. "That damned Hellsteed!" William licked his lips. "You've detected it from afar before!"
A fire sparked in Juxta's amethyst staff as power flowed unheeded into him. He held the orb tightly and focused on the stench of the Hellsteed. He spoke slowly. "There's a Hellsteed to our east. There's a mausoleum on the border with Tercia and Lynken. It's made of rough hewn timbers. You can't see it from afar as it's surrounded by four hills. But, the Hellsteed is there. It grazes."
A sinister grin etched its way onto William's face. "We can kill a Hellsteed. We've killed them before. At least in the older history books, it says so. An arrow to the brain followed closely by an arrow to the heart!" William turned to Rollin and Simon. "I don't want that bastard getting away." William turned back to Juxta. "These hills surrounding the mausoleum, how far is the crest of the hill to where the Hellsteed is grazing?"
"About one hundred and fifty feet…"
"It'll be a bad shot if we have wind, but I could hit it in the heart…" Simon said.
William turned to Simon and pointed as his chest. "Simon, you'll take the brain shot. We'll both shoot for the brain and then the heart. Rollin, assemble the rangers. We leave today."
Rollin departed in a rush.
Simon's eyes pooled tears, and he looked to William. "My king, you should get cleaned up. Let the priests handle your parents."
William's left eye twitched just a bit. "This is neither the time nor the place for you to tell me what I must do."
Simon sighed.
"Assemble with the men," William said.
Simon bowed. "As you wish, my lord."
He exited the room, and Juxta followed.
William and Teresa were alone. William grabbed her up in his arms. "Promise me you'll never die…"
"I'll do my best to outlive you, my king, but I can't make any promises…"
He held her tight. "I guess that's the best I can expect."
William stepped out of his parents' room and nodded to the priests that waited in the corridor. They scurried past him carrying stretchers. William saw himself in a mirror and paused. Then he shrugged and went to the courtyard.
All the rangers were standing at attention in lines of thirty men across. Even the Rogue Scouts attended, and they had great disdain for assemblies. Rollin stood and waited, with Simon and Juxta at his sides. William walked briskly up to the rangers and smiled.
"After seeing today what Rivek is capable of, I don't doubt he's going to kill a great many of us. H
e thinks he's safe, and I say, we're going to burn his haven to the ground!"
One by one, the men began to shout, "Long live the king!"
William motioned for quiet with his hands. "There are four hills that surround his mausoleum." As if on cue, all of the Rogue Scouts simply turned and left. William shook his head. "I want to station no more than fifty rangers on each hill with bows. No necromancer can stop that many arrows. I want volunteers…"
First one Ranger stepped forward, then another, then en masse the remainder stepped forward.
"OK, that's fine, now. It would be better if we just took the best among you for this mission. So, whoever is the best, step forward…"
One by one the Rangers stepped forward until all of them had advanced. Some even went as far as to step forward a second time breaking rank.
William nodded and looked the men in the eyes. "Fine, some of you will be delegated to a reserve force. We'll draw lots."
A number of rangers groaned at this. One of the cadets, from way far in the back, as they hadn't been part of the assembly, shouted, "What about us?"
William hissed. "They aren't coming."
Rollin shouted, "You'll stay at the castle."
"Boo's," could be heard from the cadets.
William turned to Rollin. "Break out the fire arrows, assign one to a man. Also, distribute the flame blades that they brought back from the Lost City. We'll strike at night and those will provide light if nothing else. It's seven days hard ride to the border. We're going to do it in five. Have every man pack enough food for those five days. We'll hunt and forage our way home."
Rollin pointed at a squad of rangers. "You men, come with me."
Rollin and the squad descended into the bowels of the castle.
"My king, I must go home and tell my apprentice of this. I'll send him to safety in Weslan," Juxta said. "We need to secure the cats, or they'll follow us for sure. The cats would be of no help to us."
"Juxta, you must pray to the God of War," Robert said from a cloud of smoke. "He'll grant strength and speed to the horses."
William looked at Juxta.
His eyes turned hard as stone. "I've no love for any god!"
Robert whisked himself away…
Juxta departed. William looked at his blood stained hands and went to get washed up and packed for the road.
*
Within an hour the troop of just over six hundred souls thundered out the castle gate heading east for Tercia. They rode hard with Juxta in the lead and William by his side constantly pushing the pace up. When the sun started to set, William called a stop to rest and feed the horses. The men had a few quick bites of rye bread and jerky. They took the grain bags off the horses while they still chewed. William leapt back on his horse and kicked it into a gallop, causing the others to scramble to keep up. When the sun finished setting, William said, "Light."
Juxta nodded and sent a spherical orb of white light floating above the troop, although producing a kind of twilight, it let them make good time. William stopped around midnight. He hopped off his horse and turned to the men, "Feed the horses, have something to eat, then bed-down. We ride again at dawn."
There were no moans or boos. Some men nodded, but everyone started to get to it.
Rollin walked up to William. "My liege, we can't run the horses at this pace for five days."
"I've heard stories of Rogue Scouts traveling from inside Tercia to the castle in under four days," William said.
Rollin shook his head. "That's one man traveling alone. We're a group of hundreds."
"That is why I've given us five days to do it."
Rollin said, "We'll lose a few horses before it's over."
"When we start losing horses, we'll slow down a bit."
"Aye, my liege."
*
On the morning of the fifth day, after they had left behind a dozen horses, William approached Juxta. "How much farther?"
"We can be there by sundown, if we push the horses."
"Good. We strike at midnight. We'll take it easy on the horses today."
Simon said, "My king, Rivek is at his strongest at night."
William paused, staring off into the distance. "He won't be expecting us at night. His guard will be down. We have to reach the crest of those hills and kill that Hellsteed before he makes it out of his crypt. We can't let him get away. Not again."
Simon nodded. "We'll put an end to his carnage. I expect I'll get the killing blow…"
William laughed. "You'll have to beat me to it, my friend."
"That's the plan."
"Focus on the Hellsteed. Let's ride!"
*
The hills loomed like little lumps in the distance just before sunset. William had promised not to push them too hard, but he egged his horse on faster all day. They walked the horses into a birch grove and tied them up loosely. They lit no fires and ate the last of their jerky and dried apples. Everyone sat around William in concentric circles. He spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear. "We have a few hours to wait. We might as well all get some rest. Those of you who aren't tired can take turns standing guard."
A few men got out bedrolls but most huddled in squads and talked of the battle to come. William stood at the edge of the birch trees and stared at the hills surrounding the mausoleum. Juxta and Simon stood with Rollin.
Rollin touched Simon on the shoulder. "This is going to be my last battle. I'm too old for this. My bones ache. Simon, you're my first choice, and I know the king's first choice, to take my place."
"Thank you, Rollin. Frankly, I don't know if I can fill your shoes. William may have to choose one of the older officers to take the job, at least for a few years."
"Nonsense," Rollin said with a deep laugh. "The job is easy. Every ranger already knows your name. They'll follow you."
"Perhaps you're right…"
As midnight approached they woke the few who had actually captured some sleep. They drew lots to see who would end up in the reserve force. William said, "Fifty men will crest each hill. The fifty on my hill will each have a signal arrow. We'll draw lots between the others. If you're in the reserve, your job will be to wait on the outskirts of the hill, and if you hear us sound a charge or a rally, to come running, otherwise stay back. We've tried walking up to Rivek before, and it isn't possible no matter how well you shield your thoughts. Does everybody understand?"
Everyone nodded and started drawing from the lots. People that drew reserve duty didn't sigh or moan or complain though, some even smiled. They approached the hills on foot, inching towards them slowly. A full moon lit up the countryside. As William and Simon crested the hill, Juxta whispered, "Rivek stirs…"
William said, "Now!" and raised his bow high, aiming for the Hellsteed's eye. Simon raised his bow aiming for the beast's other eye.
William's arrow went astray, but Simon's sunk clear through the creature's skull. William said, "The wind!"
Simon smiled and with fluid motion knocked another arrow, and both he and the king sent them flying at the Hellsteed's heart. This time Simon's arrow went astray, and the king's hit the creature's heart causing it to crumple to the ground in a mass of decaying flesh. William laughed. "Ha! I beat you!"
"The wind, my liege!"
William laughed again.
Rivek howled in their minds, Fools!
"Die, Rivek!" William shouted.
Juxta started pulling in power. He noticed an insidious growth of power coming from within the mausoleum. William readied another arrow and all the rangers raised their bows high in the air. Rivek stepped out of the tomb and reached out with his mind, killing ranger after ranger that failed to cloud their thoughts. William shouted, "Fire!" and let loose with his own arrow.
As the arrows approached Rivek, he waved his hand at them and deflected them.
Juxta growled. "Don't forget about me, Rivek!"
He smiled, and Juxta let loose with a sheet of lightning. The rangers readied another barrage of arrows, and R
ivek swept them aside. William heard the howl of a battle cry and looked left and right, between the hills, the reserve forces charged Rivek. William cursed. "Is there a ranger born who can follow orders!"
Rivek simply pointed at the charging rangers cutting them down in their tracks. William shouted, "Arrows!" and raised his bow to the heavens again, praying this time they'd work.
A few of the rangers slacked and didn't let loose with the others. Rivek swept the first arrows aside, asif they were nothing, but in his haste to kill the men charging him with blades, he failed to stop the arrows from the stragglers, and one went thunk piercing him through the arm pinning it to his chest. A second arrow went ca-thunk into his left leg, and Rivek howled to the heavens in pain. Rangers cheered. William shouted, "Arrows!"
The rangers raised their bows and let loose, but Rivek darted back into the mausoleum. William turned to Juxta. "Bring it down around his ears!"
Juxta nodded and focused a formidable lightning bolt, but the building had an evil presence within shielding it. William shouted, "Fire arrows!"
One by one, rangers brought forth the precious signal arrows. They broke the glass protecting the oily rags and sparks flew--lighting the arrows up like torches. Fifty streaks of burning fire crossed through the night sky to land in the sides of the mausoleum. The king shouted, "Again!"
The remaining burning arrows flew through the sky and landed in the wooden exterior of the mausoleum. Juxta sensed a weird change in the power Rivek channeled as the ground under them started to shift and move.
"These hills are burial mounds!" Rollin shouted. "We'll be surrounded by the undead!"
William replied, "Yes!"
Rollin eyed the field. "We must sound the retreat, my lord! We'll be slaughtered. We are outnumbered at least ten to one."
William looked around him, indeed, the dead crawled out of the ground around them, and some of the men broke rank only to be caught up in the grasp of the creatures. He smiled at Rollin. "Each of us will get to kill at least ten!" The rangers' lines were scattered and getting worse. William turned to the trumpeter and pointed at him square in the chest. "Sound the rally!"
Juxta, Magi Page 27
