Battle of Illaria: Book Three of the Illaria Series

by Dyan Chick

  I picked up the pace, careful where I placed my footsteps on the uneven ground. My heart sank as we passed through the gates. Most of the buildings resembled the destroyed farm house we had just left behind. The few buildings that weren't in pieces didn't look like they'd be standing for long.

  With each step I took, my heart pounded faster. I had to know who did this. The king made it clear that he had no concern for human life. Did he take the bodies away with him? I had to know if this was his doing, or if someone else could take the blame. How many people died in his brutal attack? With each step, I could feel the pull of the Darkness, urging me to let it in. I took a deep breath and focused on clearing my mind. Stay in control.

  Laughter sounded from ahead of us, sending the hair on my arms standing on edge. Nobody should be laughing in these streets right now. My fingers tingled with the telltale sign of magic. "Sorcerers. Hide"

  We darted behind a crumbling two story building. Two of the walls were still mostly standing. I brushed against one of the walls and my sleeve came back covered in black soot. I looked around again and noticed that all the buildings seemed to be stained black. Whoever had done this had clearly used sorcerer fire. It was getting more difficult to hope that Max hadn't been involved. Had it been him and the king? Or Max's Order of the Dragon? Or had they combined forces? A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek. The thought of the king's sorcerers and Max's fire sorcerers working together was terrifying. I wiped my brow with my sleeve. My heart was still beating too quickly. The sooner we got out of here, the better.

  Calder led us through narrow pathways between the rubble, taking us deeper into the heart of the city. I was grateful for his guidance. In the destruction surrounding us, my sense of direction was failing me.

  We passed people who were walking through the rubble. Glassy eyed and ashen faced. They dug though the mess or called out the names of their loved ones. Nobody even looked at us. They were too focused on themselves and I couldn't blame them. I hoped the cart of supplies we sent could help some of them.

  Reaching into my pocket, I found the full purse that Sir Henry gave me. With one hand, I loosened the string and grabbed a few coins. I started passing coins into the hands of the people we passed. Some of them stared at me with blank expressions, too numb to respond. Others thanked me or bowed their heads.

  Madame Lyndsey threw me a warning glance but I continued to pass out the coins as we walked. It was a large bag, and I wanted to do something to help people. I needed something good to come from all of the destruction around me.

  Calder stopped in front of a crumbled building. His shoulders dropped and the color drained from his face. I moved closer to him, worried he was going to pass out.

  "This used to be my parents’ house," Calder said.

  The pile of debris in front of me was indistinguishable as anything other than a crumbled structure. Looking around, I tried to find a way inside, a way to make sense of what had been here.

  "Maybe they weren't home," Madame Lyndsey said.

  Calder stood there, unmoving, unblinking.

  "Calder?"

  I turned to see Holden, Calder's friend that I met on my last visit to Greenville running toward us.

  He pulled Calder into an embrace. "Thank the gods you're alive."

  "My family?" Calder asked.

  Holden looked down, then shook his head. "I came right after it happened but they were all gone."

  "No chance my father was out on business?" Calder asked.

  Holden's expression confirmed my fears and I covered my mouth with my hand. My throat burned as tears threatened.

  Calder stumbled backward, out of Holden's embrace. "My sister?"

  Holden remained silent for a moment. "I'm so sorry."

  I couldn't hold back anymore. I moved over to Calder and wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so sorry."

  It felt like I was spending a lot of time apologizing to my friends for the destruction following in my wake. The only reason Calder lost his family was because I continued to challenge the king.

  Calder looked at me with a hint of the wild-eyed madness he'd worn when we first met. Nostrils flaring, jaw tense, he stepped away from my embrace. "When you kill him, I want him to suffer."

  A lump rose in my throat and I felt the tendrils of the Darkness wrapping themselves around my insides. I knew exactly how he felt. I wanted the king, Max, the Oracle, everyone who wronged me to suffer. "We will make them all pay."

  For a moment, I relished the feeling of the Darkness, it was as if it gave me permission to want revenge. Then, I caught myself. It wasn't worth it. I couldn't let it in, even for this. Taking a deep breath, I sent the Darkness away.

  I turned to Holden. "Did you see what happened?"

  He shook his head. "I didn't see it, but I've heard the stories."

  I lifted my eyebrows. "And?"

  "It was a whole group of sorcerers here. All of them using fire. All dressed in black. Rumor is that the Order of the Dragon works for the king now." His forehead creased. "That true?"

  I nodded.

  Holden's shoulders dropped. "It's over, then, isn't it?"

  "Don't you say that," Calder said. "It's even more important that we fight this."

  "Since when did you become a revolutionary?" Holden turned from Calder and pointed at me. "This girl is the reason your whole family is dead. The king left us alone until she came along."

  I took a step back from Holden as the destruction around me assaulted my senses. He was right. Last time I'd been here, this had been a thriving city, full of life. Now, it was the smoldering remains of something out of a nightmare. All this because of me. I looked over at Calder, waiting to hear his response. Part of me wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to scream at me right here in the middle of the rubble.

  "No," Calder said. "She's the reason I'm alive. The king wasn't ever going to leave us alone. And it won't end anytime soon. It's about to get a whole lot worse."

  The tension filling me lessened at his words, but it wasn't enough to wash it away. I was determined to put an end to this destruction but I had no answers for what would happen before we gained our victory.

  Holden spun in a circle, arms extended wide. "How can it get worse than this?"

  Madame Lyndsey had been silent the whole time, just watching our exchange. She stepped in front of Holden. "The Darkness is on its way to Illaria. The barrier between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead will vanish and the king, a necromancer, will bring back anyone he wants. The dead could outnumber the living."

  She stepped away from him and stood next to my side. "Still think she's not worth fighting for?"

  Holden looked at Calder. "The Darkness is a myth. We use it to scare children."

  "It's not a myth," I said.

  Calder moved closer to Holden. "I've seen what it can do. I've seen the undead. Trust me. This is just the beginning."

  The mention of the undead sent goosebumps down my arms. I recalled the mass of bodies moving toward us through the trees. The rotting corpses that came at us even after we lit them on fire. I glanced around, half expecting to see them coming after us. That was when I realized I didn't see any bodies. "Holden, why aren't there any bodies? Where are the dead?"

  I could feel Madame Lyndsey and Calder tense up beside me. They knew where I was going with that question.

  "I haven't really seen any," Holden said. "I suppose families must have taken them."

  "Have there been any burnings?" I asked. "Piers? Funeral rites?" I already knew the answer the question. The scent of burning flesh was not something that faded quickly from your memory and it was a smell that we had not encountered in Greenville.

  "I don't think so," Holden said.

  Glancing around at the destruction, I realized exactly how much danger we'd put ourselves in. There had to be thousands of people dead. What would the king be able to do with an army that size? Had he raised them all and sent them away or were they hiding in the streets, wait
ing for us? "We need to get out of Greenville."

  "Yes, we do. I'm not prepared to fight off the undead." Calder turned to Holden. "You coming with us?"

  "I can go with you?" he looked to me.

  "You want to help us take down the king?" I asked.

  He looked around at the rubble around us. "I've got nothing left here. I'm in."

  I turned to Madame Lyndsey. "Can you teleport three?"

  "Wait a minute," Holden said. "I have to bring my wife. I can't leave her here."

  "Where is she?" I asked.

  "Married?" Calder's mouth dropped open. "You and Anna? When did this happen?"

  Holden smiled. "Yesterday. Figured the world is ending, might as well make it official."

  "We'll celebrate later," Madame Lyndsey said. "Right now, I want to get all of you out of here."

  Holden nodded. "Follow me." He took off at a jog through the streets.

  "Guess we're going this way," I said to Madame Lyndsey.

  "If he tries anything, I'm teleporting you out. Calder's on his own," she said.

  Holden had his chance to turn me in weeks ago when he helped us find horses. I was pretty sure he wasn't about to do it now. "Sounds fair."

  After about ten minutes, we reached a part of the city that had not been touched by destruction. People flooded the streets, seeking refuge in one of the inns or a moment of escape in one of the overflowing taverns. Holden stopped in front of a tavern. The sign had a picture of a dragon with a circle of stars over its head.

  "What is this place?" I asked.

  "The Dizzy Dragon Tavern. My wife runs this place, give me a minute." Holden pushed open the door and disappeared inside.

  "How well do you know this friend?" Madame Lyndsey asked Calder.

  "He's my best friend. He'd never do anything to hurt me and he's never had love for the king."

  "What about this wife of his?" She asked.

  "He's been seeing Anna for years. Honestly, though, I'll be surprised if she agrees to go with him. She took over this bar for her aunt and uncle. She loves this place."

  Just then, the door swung open and Holden stepped back out, hand in hand with a woman who could only be, Anna. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun and she wore a dirty apron over a faded dress. She had a bag slung over her shoulder.

  Anna stopped in front of me. "You really the lost princess?"

  I looked from her to Holden. It had been a while since someone treated me so informally when they first met me. Looking back at her, I nodded.

  "Any proof?"

  I raised my eyebrows. What kind of proof was she expecting? "I'd show you proof, but it could just as easily be stolen."

  She lifted her chin toward my bow. "Where'd you get the bow?"

  "I made it," I said.

  "You must have had a great teacher."

  "He was the best."

  "Alright," she said. "I'll go with you."

  She turned and walked away from the bar. I wasn't sure what had just happened between us, but somehow, I had passed some secret test I wasn't aware I was taking.

  "Can you teleport yourself to the barn?" Madame Lyndsey asked.

  Nervous flutters filled my stomach and I swallowed back a lump in my throat. So far, I'd only teleported from one end of the Raven camp to the other. Master Flanders had insisted that any distance that didn't involve an ocean was possible with the limited training I had. "I think so."

  "I'll take the others and meet you there."

  "Sure you got this, Etta?" Calder asked.

  "Only one way to find out." I smiled at him. "See you there."

  7

  Ashton

  Ashton followed Master Flanders, Celeste, and Saffron through the rubble of Greenville. The path they chose went through the most damaged part of the city, making the sight of others a rare occurrence. Their footfalls made strange echoes through the abandoned streets.

  The black scorch marks of sorcerer fire stretched across the remains of the buildings. There was no denying that fire sorcerers had been at work here. Ashton wondered how many of the king's sorcerers aligned with fire. A wave of nausea rolled through him. How much of this damage had Max caused? He knew Max was powerful, he'd watched him complete his trials when he applied for the Order of the Dragon, but there had been little opportunity for Max to test his full strength. Ashton's jaw tightened. It was possible that he was strong enough to destroy most of a city. Was all of this just his way of testing his power?

  Ashton forced his thoughts back to the present and looked around the debris for any sign of trouble. A sound like thunder reverberated from behind him and he turned to see a badly damaged building collapsing to the ground, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. He stood, frozen for a moment, then turned to look at his companions. "Should we go check it out? Somebody could be hurt."

  "Look around, Ashton," Celeste said. "We haven't seen any other people for the last ten minutes."

  Aside from the shifting and settling of the building, the only sound Ashton heard was his own heartbeat throbbing in his ears.

  "It's too quiet," Saffron said.

  Ashton looked over his shoulder and saw sun was low in the horizon, bathing the ruins in a warm glow. The last rays of light mixed with the smoke had turned the sky a violent shade of red, a testament to the destruction they were seeing. "Maybe we should turn back."

  "It looks like all the sorcerers are gone," Celeste said. "Master Flanders, what do you think?"

  The older sorcerer stood with his face lifted toward the sky, eyes closed. A breeze blew the gray strands of hair that hung loose around his face. He lowered his head and looked around at the group. "I'm not sensing sorcerer magic, but I fear something is out there. We'll walk back to the gates to make sure we gave Etta enough time. But stay focused."

  Ashton could feel his senses prickling in anticipation at Master Flanders' words. Every sound, every breath of wind, every smell seemed magnified. After walking so easily into Max's trap and losing his essence, he had learned his lesson about dropping his guard. Just because they couldn't see danger now, didn't mean something wasn’t lurking out there, waiting for them.

  "Come on." Saffron drew her sword and moved to the front of the group, retracing their path back to the gate. On the way here, they had decided she should keep her sword sheathed so as to not scare any locals they may encounter. But Celeste had made an excellent point, beyond the first few blocks inside the gate, they had seen no other people. Where was everyone? Had they all fled the city already?

  Another thunderous collapse sounded as a building a block in front of them crumbled to the ground. A cloud of dust rolled through the street, eliminating their visibility. The group hesitated, waiting for the dust to settle before they progressed.

  Through the brown haze, Ashton could just make out new shapes on the road in front of them. His whole body tensed as the shapes took on a human form. For a moment, he cursed himself for being so careless in his observations. They'd walked through a city of ruins. The streets should be full of the dead bodies of the victims or they should at least see some funeral piers remaining. Instead, they'd encountered a handful of living people and empty streets.

  The king had left behind the dead and he had made them rise.

  "It's the undead. Fire. Now." Ashton was the first to react. He charged into the settling dust where the graying, dead-eyed bodies of the dead were coming into clearer view. Calling to fire, Ashton launched a wave of flames at the approaching masses. A gust of wind flew past him and he knew Celeste was adding her magic to his, working to cause more damage with his flames.

  Several of the bodies collapsed to the ground, charred and blackened from the fire. Saffron was quick to thrust her blade into the chest of one that kept moving, despite its charred exterior.

  Master Flanders rushed by in a flourish of sweeping robes, going right into the middle of the onslaught. A moment later, the ground shook and an arm pulled Ashton back as a crack ate its way through the dirt.
r />   Ashton stood frozen next to Celeste and Saffron as they watched half of the street rise until it was taller than them, forming a cliff that dropped off into a gap between the two halves of the road. Master Flanders stood on the raised part of the road, using wind to push the bodies of the dead into the crevice.

  "Help him!" Ashton moved to the lower part of the street where the undead were regaining their bearings after being knocked down during the quaking earth. Ashton launched a fireball at a group of them, then Celeste used wind to push them into the opening in the earth.

  Ashton continued to throw fire at the creatures and just when he thought they were nearly finished, a new wave came from the direction of the town gates. Had the king been hiding them all over the city? Who was commanding these creatures?

  Ashton spun around, nearly colliding with Saffron. She looked up at him, red-faced and sweaty as the new hoard approached. With a battle cry, she ran toward the oncoming foes, sword raised. He knew she wouldn't go down without a fight, but how could they win a battle where the enemy never gets tired and more join in for every one you destroy?

  With a deep breath, he called to fire again, ready to run toward the new wave of monsters. Then, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he glanced over his shoulder. His blood ran cold. There were thousands of undead streaming in from the other side of the city, the streets were completely full.

  "Ashton!" Celeste called as she ran over to him. "We can't fight them all."

  Saffron was backing up now, her wild expression replaced by one of worry. "Any bright ideas?"

  Something grabbed hold of Ashton and pulled. He went down, landing hard on his back, head smacking down against the ground. For a moment, his vision went black, then white spots appeared and he saw a blurry figure looking down on him. Before he could react, he was being dragged into the throngs of reaching, cold, dead hands. He covered his face with his hands and rolled, trying to break free of their grasp.

  With a scream, Ashton lost all control, igniting his fire in a way he hadn't done since the accident he had as a child. He let his magic rush through him, pouring out of him without concern for what it did or where it would land. His tunic went up in flames and a shriek sounded from the creatures surrounding him. They scurried away like insects and he emerged, breathing heavy, teeth bared, ready to take them all down.