Paladin (Book Two of the Elemental Paladins series)

by Montana Ash

  Chad was moving with great speed, looking to join the fray between Lark and Marco. And outnumber his fellow knight once more? I don’t think so! Darius moved with equal speed, the wind at his back a driving force of strength and partnership. Chad was also a skilled soldier and detected his approach, turning and launching a high round-house kick in one smooth motion. The other paladin was slightly out of breath and was caked in sweat – he was an earth paladin and the destruction to so much of his associated element must be taking a toll. Darius easily dodged the size eleven boot, catching it in his fist and delivering a swift punch to Chad’s inner thigh. The hard strike had the desired effect, deadening the large muscle and causing him to hobble back a step, off-balance. Not allowing him a chance to recover and not concerned with a fair fight – Chad was an honourless cretin, after all – Darius swept his foot out and tumbled him to the ground. Two steps were all it took to deliver a hard kick to the fallen soldier’s temple. Chad gave a garbled grunt before his eyes rolled back in his head. He didn’t get back up.

  Looking around he saw Lark had Marco in much the same predicament; he was standing over the disgraced Captain, his sickle pointed low and warningly against his throat. Marco appeared to be goading Lark, pushing into the steel and drawing his own blood as he no doubt uttered obscenities. Lark spared him one disgusted look before drawing back his left arm and punching Marco directly in the middle of his forehead. That sure shut him up. Lark was by far the bigger man, not allowing himself to be provoked into further confrontation while his liege and family were still in danger. Darius was mighty proud of the young paladin.

  “Bitch, please!” An aggrieved sounding Cali yelled. Darius didn’t need to see the stunning blonde’s face to know she was rolling those ice-blue eyes of hers. Dan, another of Ignatius’s paladins was gripping her long locks in his fist – talk about fighting dirty! Cali clearly thought so too, for her disdainful comment was quickly followed by an elbow into the underside of Dan’s chin. The snap of teeth clashing together was loud enough to be heard across the yard. A spurt of blood flew from Dan’s mouth as he landed, dead-weight, on the hard ground. No doubt, he had also bitten his tongue.

  A caress of air drew his attention to art in motion – the sexiest damn moving artwork Darius had ever seen! Diana’s shirt was ripped down one arm, leaving her right side bare and displaying tanned, smooth skin to its best advantage. Subtle muscles flexed as she executed a perfect roll, tucking herself under a huge outstretched male fist. The springs on her head – which she affectionately referred to as hair – flew in complete disregard to gravity, whipping crazily in a cloud of black chaos. Darius remembered the feel of those curls twisted around his hands as she screamed his name in ecstasy. She shifted quickly, moving to the balls of her feet and ramming the butt of her own sickle forcefully into Ricky’s kidney. He gave a loud howl, dropping his blade as he reached for the area and Darius figured it must not have been the first time Diana had scored a hit to that location. But she was like that – stubborn as the day was long, willing to press an issue until the wound under pressure was lanced.

  Darius watched her turbulent grey eyes as they narrowed in calculation. She swung her sickle directly at Ricky’s head, smiling a little evilly as his eyes squeezed tightly together – no doubt not wanting to see the killing blow coming. But Diana twisted her hand at the last second and the handle hit his temple at the last minute. Back when he had first met her, she would never have shown such mercy. But then, neither would he. Both had moved with the times, he supposed and he couldn’t wait to move with something else as soon as they finished dealing with the scum. Speaking of which, Darius forced his eyes away from the promise of heat in Diana’s grey depths and sought out his Captain.

  Ryker was actually partnered up with Axel and they were fighting Ignatius in tandem. It was more than a fair fight considering Ignatius kept drawing on his domain to send bites of flame licking at the two knights. Ryker had his dual sickles out – they were his pride and joy and he was one of the only paladins Darius had ever met to use two weapons simultaneously. The two of them fought in harmony as if they had been fighting together for years. And although they had been training together for a handful of years now, they rarely had the occasion to battle anything but chades. A Warden was by no means a chade, but the two were holding their own, ducking and weaving, delivering well-timed and well-placed blows. Darius noticed that all of them were non-lethal.

  A rush of air warned him once again of impending danger. A spinning sickle was winging its way directly toward Max but before it could reach her, a large bronzed hand snatched it out of the air – blade first – and sent it whizzing back to its owner in one smooth motion. Goddamn but Beyden was good with blades! His aim was as true as it always was and a dull thud followed by a thin scream provided evidence that the weapon had embedded deeply into the shoulder of Clint. Darius figured there would be no removing that blade without surgery; Beyden was a big, strong bastard on a normal day. But on a day when he was protecting his liege and his family? Clint was lucky Bey hadn’t severed that arm.

  The raw sound of pain from one of his paladin’s finally had Ignatius wavering and Ryker took immediate advantage, incapacitating him with several swift blows to the solar plexus. Gasping for air, Ignatius staggered back to where Axel kicked out one of his ankles, hiking his right arm up and … POP! … dislocating his shoulder. Now it was the warden’s turn to scream. Ignatius landed hard, his knee caps echoing loudly as they banged against the earth. He swore colourfully, threatening them all with vile acts of vengeance. The obscenest threats were directed at Max, who for her part, had not even raised her tanto sword. She had watched the proceedings with an almost eerie calm, almost as if she had been judging the spectacle and all of its participants. It wasn’t hard to tell who she had deemed unworthy.

  Although it made him feel a twinge of guilt, he was just a tiny bit glad that Max had witnessed the contemptible actions of Ignatius and his Order. After listening to Max and Ivy, and receiving a soul-cleanse of sorts, he was at a point where he could admit he may be wrong in some instances regarding the intentions of the chades. The admission twisted his gut and he actually had to force back bile as it rushed up his oesophagus. The thought of maiming and killing true guardians of nature all these years, when he should have been helping them? It made him sick to the stomach. And he still wasn’t able to touch on any memories of his brother. He had believed his brother had abandoned him, but what if it had been the other way around? His brother’s thin voice on the day he had become a chade haunted him to this day; help me! But Darius had convinced himself he had imagined the strangled plea – chades did not talk. That gut-wrenching nightmare aside, clearly there were some Wardens out there who chose to betray their birthright, who chose to turn their backs on everything they were sworn to uphold. The cursing, snarling, pitiful excuse for a Warden in front of them was obvious proof of that and he hoped Max recognised it also.

  Much as Lark had done with Marco, Max refused to be drawn into the indignity of sparring with Ignatius, despite his continued and colourful vocabulary; she turned her back on him and made her way to where Lawson was cradling a clearly very depleted Caspian. Darius could see that Ivy was over there with Leo as well, helping as best she could to stem the flow of blood rushing from a leg wound high on his thigh. Max rushed over and immediately placed an open palm over the long gash. Darius couldn’t make out what was going on but judging from the surprised gasps and the lessening of pinched lines on Leo’s face, Darius figured Max was doing her healing thing. He ran a tired hand over his soot-streaked face. They were going to have some explaining to do to Caspian and his paladins. Even if the small display of power Max was now exhibiting wasn’t enough, they had surely seen a few of their coats of arms by now too. Darius wasn’t all that concerned – Caspian would be a staunch ally.

  Max was preoccupied attending to Caspian now, obviously figuring the battle won, so couldn’t see what Darius did; Ignatius gaining his feet,
a look of mad hate contorting his once handsome features into a mask of malevolence. If only Darius was bonded to Max and their Order, he would have been able to gain her attention through the bond. But his pride and stubbornness had cost him that lifeline, so he did the only thing he could when Ignatius raised a palm of flame in Max’s direction.

  He leaped in front of her.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  “NO!” Diana shouted as she saw Ignatius release his spear of fire directly at Max’s exposed back. There was no way any of them could get to her in time, but just as she was certain she was going to watch a second liege be killed in front of her, a blur of movement intercepted the spear before bursting into flames. An inhuman cry shrieked into the night air and Diana realised the sound came from her own throat.

  Darius. That thing that was on fire was Darius.

  The shocked stillness of the yard was bolstered into life by Diana’s scream as she charged to Darius, desperately patting at him and rolling him along the ground in a fruitless attempt to smother the flames. She hardly felt her own skin burning as she sobbed, knowing extinguishing the unnatural flame was impossible. Ignatius had tainted his element, corrupting it in order to do his bidding against his fellow warriors, it would not be so easily tamed. The rancid smell of burning hair and flesh met her nose, even as weak pitiful mewls of pain, wrenched from a scorched throat, met her ears. Darius was burning alive right in front of her and she couldn’t stop it.

  A feminine hand entered her field of view and reached directly through the crackling flames as though they held no heat. Immediately the fire was gone but only to be replaced with the horrific image of a blackened Darius; his skin was practically melted to his bones in places and his hair was completely singed off. His eyelids had been burnt away and she had to turn her head in order to retch as she saw his beautiful hazel eyes wheel crazily inside his oozing, charred head.

  “Diana! We need you! She’s going to kill him.” Cali shouted. Diana spared a brief glance up, seeing Ignatius clutching his throat and choking as if he couldn’t draw breath.

  Suffer! She thought. Suffer long and suffer hard before death takes you. The others were trying desperately to talk Max down but none could get near her. Energy seemed to crackle around her in palpable waves as she stood still and silent, glowing eyes focused on Ignatius. Her hair was whipping in the wind and her fingers were twitching spastically, but that was all. They were insane if they thought she was going to help them stop Max exact revenge.

  Ignatius had killed her Darius.

  “Diana!” A loud, hard voice was suddenly in front of her. “He’s not dead yet and the only person who can save him is Max! If she kills Ignatius – if she crosses that line – we won’t be able to get her back and who will help Darius then?” Axel shook her so hard she swore she could hear her neck crack. It had the desired effect though. Could Max really save Darius? She had healed Ryker’s scar, Lark’s bruises and lightened the burden in Darius’s heart. If there was any chance …

  Glancing at the love of her life one last time, she stood on unsteady legs and allowed Axel to help her over to Max. The frenetic energy grew stronger with every step she took and she didn’t think there was any way she was going to be able to reach Max. But suddenly, Diana could feel a wealth of grief and loss and pain surging through the bond and she realised she was feeling Max’s anguish. As a paladin affiliated with the domain of death, she was naturally attuned to the darker emotions. She dealt with these kinds of emotions all the time – it was what made her so good as a consultant. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she reached for her years of experience. She had been able to talk Max out of a power-fuelled storm before and she would do it again.

  Anything to save Darius.

  “Max.” She said softly – a raised voice was never useful in these circumstances – but there was no response.

  “Max. Look at me.” She tried again. Still no response. Diana could see Ryker prowling helplessly in her peripheral vision and she knew this must be killing him as surely as Darius laying on the ground was killing her.

  “Okay. You don’t have to look at me. But I want you to listen. I need your help Max. Darius needs your help.”

  Upon hearing Darius’s name, Max swung her head in her direction. Diana’s breath caught – Max’s eyes were a spectrum of colour, dancing and swirling as if in a tempest. They held an ancient arrogance that bespoke great power and although there was an eerie awareness in them, it wasn’t wholly Max. At least, not the Max they had all become accustomed to. No, this was the Goddess. Instead of the healthy dose of fear and reverence that would normally accompany such a realisation, Diana instead felt hope. Surely this being in front of her would be able to save Darius.

  A rustle of movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye but in the next second Ignatius’s two remaining conscious paladins were frozen in place … and looked to be having the same difficulty breathing as their liege. Max hadn’t even glanced in their direction.

  “Darius.” The Custodian’s voice filled Diana’s ears even though her lips didn’t move. “This filth hurt Darius.”

  “I know. But you can help him. You are the only one who can help him. But you need to let them go.”

  “After …” Again, Max didn’t open her mouth and the words were a chilling tone of powerful intent. Diana shivered under the intensity of that God-like stare. Max had every intention of killing them all. Gods were just as vengeful as they were loving. The others looked to be at their wits end; they all knew what it would mean if Max killed Ignatius. Their Max – the Max that walked around bare foot, consumed chocolate like air and had the mouth of a sailor – would be no more. Diana took a deep breath and steeled herself to chastise the most powerful element on the planet.

  “No, Max.” Her voice was firm and brooked no argument. “Not after. Now. You will release Ignatius and his paladins and you will help Darius now.” Diana knew she portrayed a calm, in control presence – a direct contrast to the pulsing energy and tension. She continued to say Max’s name, hoping the familiarity would remind her that Diana knew her and was on her side … but that she also wasn’t going to take her crap.

  Max tilted her head and Diana felt a flicker of hope – Max always did that when she was trying to figure something out. “After …”

  This time Max’s lips formed the words and the tone was almost a pout, like Diana was taking away a favourite toy. Although Diana wholly agreed with the sentiment of killing the miserable Fire Warden, she wanted Darius to live more and time was of the essence. Ignatius was no longer gasping and was literally blue. Diana didn’t even know if he was still alive.

  “No. Now, Max. Look at him.” It took everything in her to turn and look at her knight, lying completely still and silent save for the horrendous rattling sounds coming from his scorched throat. She had to force down bile … and the urge to break down and cry until the end of time.

  Max’s technicolour irises peered over … and just like that, the world went still again. The energy storm ceased raging, the two paladins fell to their knees gasping and gagging, and Ignatius’s dead weight crumpled to the ground in a heap. Max let out a keening sound when she took in Darius’s unrecognisable form as she rushed over and knelt beside him. Diana was peripherally aware of Ivy, Caspian, Leo and Lawson hurrying over to the downed traitors but her focus and that of her Order were on Max and their fallen comrade. Diana practically collapsed at Darius’s side. She saw Max’s hand hover over Darius and she thought Max must be scared to touch him at first, but then she realised she was doing some kind of scan or something. Under her palms, blackened skin began to turn pink and Diana choked on a sob – she was healing him. But mere seconds later, Max shook her head and sat back on her knees. She ran a trembling hand over a face that was obscured by the mass of messy red hair. It came away bloody.

  Ryker cursed and knelt beside them, pushing Max’s hair out of the way and revealing a face pasty white and a nose that was dripping blood. “I
need more vitality.” Max’s voice was thin – nothing like the voice of supremacy from minutes ago – and Diana realised that all the fighting and the little show she had just put on had depleted all of her vitality.

  No. Please, no. She begged, knowing she had little to no vitality stores to recharge her.

  “We’re all running on fumes, Max. I’m sorry. The fight and the … strangulation used up all of our reserves.” Ryker’s voice wasn’t condemning although his words definitely were … to Darius. No vitality equalled no powers equalled no healing.

  “Use me.”

  Diana sniffed and saw Ivy offer a slender hand to Max. Max didn’t question her or even hesitate, she only dipped her head briefly in thanks and acknowledgment before grasping it tightly. Diana had forgotten the Ranger was even there. She felt the earth vibrate beneath her feet and hoped that was a good sign that the earth paladin was able to recharge Max’s diminished stores. She felt a tug on the threads holding the Order together and knew Max was taking what they all had left as well. Diana didn’t care if she took it all and felt the same sentiment mirrored by her fellow knights. They shared her desperation for Darius too.

  Max released Ivy’s hand and placed them over the top of Darius again. Warmth spread across Diana’s skin and a tingling sensation began to permeate her pores. Once more, power filled the air. But this display of power was a complete juxtaposition to that which Max had wielded on their enemy. This was filled with warmth and love and healing. It was soothing and it was mighty and it was awe-inspiring. This was the loving Goddess, somehow even more vital than the vengeful one. Max’s whole body glowed – it just lit right up like a Christmas tree. Colours Diana didn’t even know the names of seemed to radiate around her like a whole-body halo. Her hair lifted gently in the air and danced around her head almost lazily. Diana couldn’t make out her eyes but she didn’t need to see them to know they were a living rainbow.