Laugh of Destruction (Book 3 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  One of the men instantly moved and brought a bronze dagger the man’s father made as a child and he kept it on him at all times except when he had to covertly leave. Knife in hand, Cage bound his seeker thread to locate the owner. The thread of light snapped in a direction. “I’ll go find him.”

  Some who were friends went to follow till the sorcerer said “He’ll be quicker on his own. All of you better prepare for battle.”

  “Battle, Sir?” The captain asked.

  Jormon withdrew one of the king’s letters detailing the objectives of the mission and handed it to the captain who broke the wax seal. While the men put on their armor the captain read the orders and, when through, whispered “Burn, burn, burn.” And watched as the letter burst into flames. King Tate’s magician spells to work letters proved it was no hoax.

  The captain said “Men, once we leave these doors we are to kill anyone who bars our path to the Duke’s castle by order of the king himself. They will likely be part of a major smuggling plot which has undermined our nation’s values. We must cleanse the city of those polluting it.”

  The men were astonished to hear such an order. One asked “All who get in our way, Sir? Why and how can the sixty of us fight off a whole city?”

  “We have our orders. We get the mages to the castle and show the force of the Vlaran army. The Duke has overstepped his authority and is suspected of being part of the problem.” None broached the captain’s command again.

  Just as the armor of every man was tied down there came a creak as the door opened and closed as if by wind before Cage reappeared before them. The men relaxed and heard him say “Dead, had his throat slit from behind.”

  The soldiers looked at each other knowingly and anger built. They lost a brother in a dishonorable way. The captain asked “Where did you find him?”

  “Garbage pit, half mile down the road. Not much left. Here’s his ring.” Cage placed a simple silver band and the knife in the soldier’s hand.

  “It’s his. His late wife gave it to him two years ago. He had no other family except us.” The captain looked up into Cage’s eyes. “Can you find the bastard who did it?”

  Shaking his head Cage said “Not without something to track with. The scene was impossible to use and find the killer.” He looked at the angered men. “Captain, you form up rank behind me, Jormond and Gaz. Watch your backs. Make them remember why you fight today, to cut out those rotting the minds of citizens who want no part in this. You will all likely have to spill blood, but it is necessary.”

  “I agree, Cage. We are ready to do what is asked of us for the betterment of the city.” He turned around. “Men line up! Six lines of ten!”

  They marched outside and proudly formed ranks behind the three leading them. It wasn’t long before they heard “Halt! Return to your barrack.” When they didn’t stop or show any sign of listening the man paled and ran back to gather some men.

  In minutes came thirty home guard and a few thugs of Tran’s obvious origin. The captain calmly said “Men, cut them down!”

  A great laugh escaped Cage as he sped ahead, unable to help himself. He waded into the incoming fray with cruel delight. Some soldiers stared in awe as he grabbed swords and wrecked havoc in the large men. The soldiers, including the captain fought alongside Cage and killed every one who chose to confront them. Several were smart enough to drop their weapons, surrendered or fled for their lives.

  Screams and death drew attention rapidly. Some stood on the sidelines and watched soldiers with swords drawn, half of the blades dripped blood from the tips. The calm determination on every soldier’s expression said to approach is to meet death, but none struck more fear than the mage in front who smiled as if it were the best day of his life. The crowd was too mesmerized to interfere in the march, but unable to resist not following. The soldiers at the end walked backwards and it kept people plenty back.

  A second wave rushed with double the number, but most were armed thugs without any real combat experience. The skirmish lasted less than a minute with all dead. Only a bruised rib happened on one of the soldiers. When crossbows were used, Jormon effortlessly rendered them useless by breaking every string. Afterwards they formed up and moved on till reaching the main road.

  When it became clear nothing would stop them, the attacks ended.

  For ten minutes they marched straight for the Duke’s castle. By now the city was alerted. Then they came within sight of a castle surrounded by a moat with the drawbridge up.

  In front of the entrance stood a hundred home guard with ready weapons. An older man who led them shouted “Halt! You are all under arrest for murder of Miot citizens. Surrender your weapons now or your life is forfeit!”

  “I got this.” Cage said and his group stopped. He saw every weapon brandished and focused directly on the weapons. He poured a simple spell which instantly increased the heat. Each one yelped in pain or saw their gloves catch fire.

  Then suddenly Cage found himself surrounded by a powerful magic barrier that was created by the castle. Hating to be contained for even a second, he tensed his muscles and yelled as his power surged and blackness surrounded his body in the most powerful shield breaking spell he’d ever done.

  With a force never seen before in Miot’s history the city shook slightly with the sound of shattering glass as the barrier was overpowered by one enraged man. A huge blast of wind emanated from Cage and everyone within a hundred feet were thrown back or knocked down. Windows shattered and people screamed. The surge severely depleted him, but a quick thread restored him back to full strength.

  Jormon and Gaz and the soldiers were the only ones protected from the blast of air and stared in utter disbelief at what they just saw. He had acted out of pure reflex and protected himself and others from the blast with a barrier after sensing firsthand the energy of a warlock. Cage stood alone, his lighthearted smile gone, but a feral grin fully said he wasn’t playing games anymore.

  When the home guard stared at him and made no move after that Jormon removed the barrier and looked at the destruction and now understood why Twilight forbade interaction and spoke of the danger. Jormon felt for the first time in many years like a hill beside a great mountain. He understood why even dragons felt the need for caution, after breaking Miot’s most powerful containment spell so close to the castle. Few of the greatest sorcerers could have done such, but not with the ease seen this day. If he wanted to, Jormon believed Cage could destroy it. Finding a shred of courage, the sorcerer and Familiar stepped forward. They passed Cage who glared and warned that any action now would be the end.

  No one else moved.

  The leader of Miot’s home guard shook visibly on his horse and was startled when the mage in the red robe spoke and ended the silence. “By order of King Tate of Vlara I order the home guard to stand down and be detained until a full inquiry can be made. The drawbridge is to be lowered and we are to be allowed inside as of this moment. I am taking control of this city and will relinquish all power of the duke until my king orders me otherwise.”

  “What proof do you have?” The home guard leader asked, frazzled. A letter was taken out and levitated to the man’s shaking hands. Then Jormon pulled his robe aside to reveal the purple crow tattooed over his heart, proving he was bound to the king’s royal line until his death. Reluctantly the man read the shocking order meant for him to surrender to the Vlaran army and any resistance after this letter allowed for swift execution. In a quiet voice the man said “Men, stand down. The king has ordered it…” The man himself removed his weapons and armor on the spot and walked over to sit in the street.

  His men joined him. The captain of the soldiers ordered ten men to watch over the home guard.

  “OPEN THE GATE, BY ORDER OF THE KING!” Shouted the sorcerer’s magically enhanced voice. When it wasn’t, Jormon spoke the secret phrase only the king and those he trusts completely know. It effectively rendered all magical defenses nullified. He hated doing something so rashly, but it had to be do
ne after all he witnessed. He reached with his power and dropped the drawbridge with a loud bang that silenced the city and lifted the iron portcullis.

  A hand on his shoulder had him turn to see Cage much calmer and less deadly. “Come on. You go deal with this Duke. I’m going after Tran before he realizes he’s screwed.”

  “Very well. It has played exactly as you expected. You have my permission to do what needs to be done.” Another grin spread.

  Cage turned to the approaching soldiers. “Captain, you stay and keep an eye on Jormon. You thirty, come with me. We’re going hunting.”

  Not bothering to ask questions, half split to follow Cage at a brisk trot around the castle’s moat. He created an image of Tran frantically yelling at a group of men in a large room filled with boxes and heard beside him “That is our old barracks!”

  “Take the shortest path and get us there.” He commanded and the soldier immediately led them through the streets, having grown up here.

  In five minutes they came upon wagons being loaded by unclean men. Their arrival was noticed almost immediately. Many fled, but most chose to confront the soldiers, thinking their greater numbers meant anything. Big mistake. The well trained Vlaran soldiers hacked the brutes with ease and Cage was a flash of movement, killing with every step. He exploited physical weakness or threw them at a soldier waiting for the right move.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Cage yelled when he spotted the skeletal figure of a man fleeing the building. He shot out a hand and plucked Tran off the ground like a blade of grass. Before the screaming tyrant knew what happened, Cage punched him in the back of his head, knocking him out. “Detain him!” Cage said to a soldier hanging back. The limp body of Tran was thrown to the soldier who instantly grabbed a rope and bound him before sitting on his back.

  “Cage, the barracks are on fire!” one of the men shouted.

  He went inside and easily snuffed the fire to try and burn evidence.

  In the hours that followed, streams of smoke destroyed every piece of opium production. Tons of product went up in flames and the chaos quieted after all drug dealers were either caught or put to death for more heinous crimes. Cage relished in destroying the supply that destroyed lives. There will be trouble ahead when addicts go through withdraw, but the leader was captured.

  Surprisingly though, Jormond’s findings were unexpected as the Duke was deathly ill and it was actually the duchess, his wife, that was the conspirator in Tran’s dealings. She was hooked on the dangerous drug and was slowly poisoning the unsuspecting Duke for weeks. She had been interrogated to reveal she herself was poisoning him, using his name to order the home guard to work alongside the thugs and had the soldiers moved to use their spacious barracks as the primary warehouse to store the future shipments. If not for the sorcerer’s magic, the duke would have been dead in two days by heavy metal poisoning.

  All findings were immediately reported to a speechless King Tate. The healed duke was present and found innocent of his wife’s secret dealings and the real source of what corrupted his city. The duke thanked the king for doing as he did before worse action was needed and said he needed time to recover before returning to position. Tate agreed and promised to send five hundred soldiers to help and food to aid families ruined because of the corruption. Jormond would stay to oversee the city till the duke made a full recovery and returned to power.

  “He’s waking up.” One of the soldiers attending the meeting said.

  “Now to get a confession.” Cage then moved and jumped down on Tran’s shins, breaking them like twigs. Hardened men cringed, the king included, at the bone breaking and the scream ripped from the cruel excuse for a man. “Afternoon, Tran!”

  Wild eyes and pain focused to hear a weak curse “You!”

  “Yep! Me again!” Cage gloated while stepping off the broken legs and wove the truth spell loud enough to be heard so everyone knew what was happening. “Now before I kill you, please tell everyone your master plot to attack Kote by using bandits as mercenaries.”

  “I…” Tran went to say something and couldn’t get the words out. He tried denying repeatedly, but it was clear to everyone in the room that he was the mastermind responsible for the attempted massacre of an entire town as he choked on the denial, even to the king, General Kurk and the advisors all the way in Vin’re could clearly see who was responsible. “Bastard! What have you done?”

  Cage turned around to look at Tate’s cold, angered image. “Good enough for you?”

  “Plenty.” King Tate said. “Do what you will.”

  Without some epic climax, Cage spun around and kicked Tran so hard in the head his skull caved in up against the castle’s wall corner. The body twitched and fell still. As if he didn’t do anything he turned around. “Tate, I’m done and need to return to my people. If you need me, you know how to contact me. Work things out with Cillian. He’ll be willing to send workers with reconstruction. Since most of the men have bounties, use that to pay workers. Send whatever’s left, after all is done and everyone collects their share, and send mine to my account in Twilight.”

  Tate finally broke into a smile after hours of intense conversation and decisions. “It will be done, Cage. And thank you again for everything. Because of you, many lives were saved though most were ended. Many problems were solved and threats eliminated. Farewell till next time, My Friend.”

  “Later.” Cage then stepped into a black archway and teleported.

  Chapter 13

  A cold blast of air blew against Cage’s face as he stepped out onto the balcony with a hot cup of coffee he finally perfected after weeks of failure. Behind, the door closed automatically to keep the house’s heat contained. Once bark-like wooden shutters over the open windows now had a transparent quality so that outside daylight could filter in the house instead of it being completely dark when shut. His eyes gazed out across the mostly snow coated island as winter gripped the land. With a swipe, he brushed snow off the railing and rested his elbows to enjoy the scenery as he did every morning. It still surprised him how well the spider silk robe contained his body heat to keep warm in winter while when it got too hot it cooled to release the trapped heat. His feet crunched snow that had blown onto the balcony during the night’s short storm.

  The winter season was in full swing and has been for weeks and it was Meeka who said that this area will experience two and a half to three months of winter and right now Cage was enjoying it. He felt calm, enjoying a cup of Java brewed to perfection with just the perfect sweetness of added sugar. It made him realize just how good he had it back on Earth when all he had to do was open a couple cans, add water and enjoy. Here, it required actually growing a coffee tree, harvesting the seeds, drying them out for two weeks, roasting them, grinding the beans and brewing them through a metal strainer.

  For sugar he grew a few stalks of sugarcane, squeezed the liquid out and steamed out the liquid to get the sugar crystals.

  After weeks of experimenting, he fully enjoyed the fruits of labor and now he had enough supply of coffee for the whole winter. It took some time, but Brooke and Meeka gained a taste for it as well, but the kids didn’t. Truthfully, Rena was bouncing off the walls when she first drank coffee. It was cute at first, but grating to the nerves. The best part of that experience was her caffeine crash.

  Reminiscing was enjoyable to Cage at these times when he was alone and looked out over his island.

  It’s been seven weeks since the attack in Kote and the destruction of Tran’s opium production. After he’d Jumped from the disabled Miot castle he reappeared on the beach to find Rin and Quitte anchored and loaded. They had already transferred all the supplies he from trading to the boats and brought the barge as intended. They did remarkably well and said they had almost two entire days to transfer supplies and were greatly surprised to have gotten so much during the trading.

  While they waited for the tribe to arrive later that night he told them all that happened and their response was as he predicted a Ut
ala to be. They were angry, mostly to be left out of the action. He was also told that the Spear and Dagger were sailed every day so they were better under control and now Rin was more confident on how to sail and maneuver his boat with almost pinpoint accuracy. Quitte though hinted that she had to give Rin advice on how she was the better sailor though their boats were near identical. He didn’t respond to her bait, but Zanza and her sister-mates secretly said it was true.

  The tribe eventually reached the beach, pushing on through the night. The livestock proved to be what slowed progress down considerably. Thankfully the horses kept the cattle, goats and sheep wrangled up, but Daku said he deterred the animals from fleeing to the woods though he didn’t say how. It also didn’t take much of an imagination to figure it out either. Animals generally avoided him since he is a powerful predator.

  And when they settled on the beach for the night since not only was everyone tired, but it was too dangerous to herd the animals to the barge in the darkness. It was just too dangerous and things would have gone wrong. But everyone wanted to know what happened and weren’t disappointed in their chief’s accounts of his day’s events. Hearing of Tran’s death had made Meeka the most relieved and she touched her breasts from the memories of what that man had done to her.

  Biting wind on the balcony did little to take the memory of that day or how she had been beaten and cried. At least, he thought, Tran won’t hurt her again. His memory continued to play of its own accord.

  The next morning, animals were loaded on the barge and tethered by sturdy vines to both the Dagger and Spear to be dragged across the water. Only together could it have been done. The boats were rather crowded, especially when Eoin brought most of his blacksmith supplies. But he needed everything and when some of the tribe complained it was too much, the chief sided with the smith since every tool had a purpose, especially the anvil modeled much like the usual shape he was used to on Earth.