Dragons of the Dawn Bringer: The Goddess Prophecies Fantasy Series Book 5

by Araya Evermore

  Her scowl softened and her alien beauty returned. She came to him and lightly laid a hand upon his armoured chest. ‘Don’t you remember me at all, Ayeth?’

  The name and her touch sparked intense memory. Bright flashes hurt his mind. Lona’s face from long ago. Immense pain. Betrayal. A loathing of all things in existence and a bitter, seething hatred of himself. He removed her hand resisting the urge to crush it. Resisting the urge to unleash his power and obliterate everything before him, her, his iron ring and chamber, the Mountains of Maphrax and even himself. His rage cooled.

  ‘I am Baelthrom. Whoever this Ayeth is, is not me and died long ago with that planet. I am so much more. I am a God and I do not share power.’

  Lona’s eyes gleamed. ‘Magnificent,’ she breathed, withdrawing her hand. Her black eyes turned hard and glittering. ‘I will do anything in my power to destroy my enemies and ensure my own survival. I have discovered knowledge and magic I’ve yet to share with anyone. We would do well to work together.’

  She stepped up into the iron ring and the vortex spun around her. ‘Do not kill the wizard. The fool is bending to our will and assisting our cause. Without him and his relic of power, we would never have seen the future or been able to reach you.’

  Lona turned away and in a rush of wind, the vortex disappeared, leaving the iron ring empty and the dark chamber visible beyond it. That she had the power to travel in such a manner and he did not was not lost on Baelthrom. She was powerful, more powerful than he dared to admit, but he would not trust her. A being that existed to ensure the complete destruction of another was dangerous, unstable. Her power and ambition were concerning. Their allegiance would be tumultuous but useful.

  Whatever he had been in the past was gone—long gone. All that mattered was that he ruled the Dark Rift and no other.

  27

  Loyal Men

  ‘ASAPH, here!’

  Asaph turned at Leaper’s voice. The man, still holding the claymore, was running after a group of red-robed priests and priestesses fleeing to a side door in the temple. Overcome with the flood of city guards, the Order were getting away.

  Asaph ran towards them but he was too late. The red robes disappeared through the door and it vanished, leaving him and Leaper to smack up against the solid white walls of the temple.

  ‘Shit!’ Leaper threw down his claymore and bent over to catch his breath.

  ‘Another secret door,’ nodded Asaph. ‘Clever. I guess many got away.’

  He looked towards the front gate. There were only two fallen red robes unmoving in the bushes. Through the trees, he could make out the City Guard surrounding ten or so Temple Guards, but no red robes. Beyond them was a group of huddling, young, white-robed priestesses, clearly shocked and upset by what was happening.

  ‘I think they ran as soon as there was trouble,’ said Leaper. ‘Cowards! They know they’ll be hanged.’ He spat on the ground.

  ‘Where are the others? The children?’ asked Asaph.

  ‘They went to the gates,’ Leaper nodded towards them and followed Asaph when he started walking that way.

  ‘No, wait,’ Asaph stopped. ‘My sword!’

  ‘You already have a sword,’ said Leaper, pointing to the one in his hand.

  ‘No, my other one,’ he grinned and turned towards the bushes.

  ‘How many do you need?’ asked Leaper.

  To his relief, Asaph found Coronos’ sword where he had left it, concealed amongst the ferns. He picked it up, feeling as if a part of Coronos were with him again.

  ‘My father’s sword,’ he murmured when Leaper stood beside him. ‘He was murdered by the High Priestess of this despicable order.’ Asaph clenched his jaw. That woman had taken too much from him and he’d nearly lost Issa because of her, too.

  ‘Sounds like you got a whole lotta revenge to enjoy.’ Leaper slapped his back, trying to cheer him up before events caught up with him and he sighed and slumped against a tree trunk. He was weak, exhausted and dehydrated, as were they all.

  ‘Come, let’s get food and rest,’ said Asaph.

  ‘With what?’ laughed Leaper. ‘They took everything, even my sodding boots.’

  ‘Mine too. But, I know someone who will help us—a very powerful someone.’ Asaph helped Leaper stand and wrapped the man’s arm over his shoulders. Together, they walked towards the gate. Immediately, two city guards came running up, swords raised. They were closely followed by two more.

  ‘Wait, we escaped. We were prisoners,’ said Asaph, trying to nonchalantly hold two swords in one hand. ‘I am Asaph Dragon Lord, a friend of King Navarr.’

  Leaper looked at him. ‘You know the king?’

  The City Guard, seeing their bloodied, dishevelled state, bare feet and chests beneath their white robes, slowly lowered their swords, but their suspicion remained.

  ‘I must help this man,’ said Asaph, breathing hard and feeling faint himself. ‘And those men over there are not to be harmed.’ He pointed towards the four men he had rescued from the harpies. They were sitting on the ground by the wall, hands on knees and heads hanging low.

  ‘You’ll have to prove it,’ said a guard. ‘The king is on his way right now.’ The guards escorted them to the gate, eyeing them closely.

  ‘That’s ‘im!’ squawked a woman from somewhere. ‘Now let me through!’

  Asaph squinted at the plump, older woman who was trying to push her way through the heavily armed city guards standing to attention at the gates.

  ‘Edarna?’ Asaph said.

  He helped Leaper to sit beside the other men and went to the old witch, a guard following him.

  ‘There you are!’ she said, tiptoeing to see over the shoulder of a guard, a wide grin spreading across her face. ‘I had a right terrible dream about a Dragon Lord being sacrificed to the black hole in the sky.’

  ‘It was no dream,’ said Asaph, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  She ducked under the guard’s arm and looked up at Asaph, her face serious, her green eyes sharp and missing nothing. ‘I knew they were up to evil in there, Mr Dubbins confirmed it, but you can’t do anything in this city or accuse anyone without proof. Pah! The whole Order needs to be destroyed!’

  ‘There are tunnels, Edarna. And magic doors. They could be everywhere, leading anywhere. This city is compromised. The king must be told, if he doesn’t know already. There are harpies who come here through secret gateways. Even a Dromoorai landed but no one suspected. Those men over there were with five others. I couldn’t save them all.’ Asaph swallowed hard.

  ‘The higher echelons of the Order have turned to blood sacrifice to feed the Dark Rift. They have joined with Baelthrom.’ He couldn’t quite believe his own words. Were people turned so easily? Was nobody loyal to goodness and freedom anymore?

  ‘Then Baelthrom has finally found a way to connect to it, to the Dark Rift. Something I always feared,’ sighed Edarna. She suddenly looked very old and weary. Asaph realised the witch knew a lot about a great many things.

  ‘Always, the darkness needs to feed upon the light to survive,’ she continued. ‘It’s not a balance that’s needed between the two at all. And where is Issa? Is she safe?’ The witch gripped his arm, worried.

  ‘Yes, I left her on Myrn to start her mission,’ he smiled and patted the witch’s hand reassuringly. ‘I had to because I came to get this. But rather, it came to me.’ He lifted the Sword of Binding. It flashed in the morning light.

  Edarna’s eyes went wide. ‘The Dawn Bringer has come,’ she gasped. Her grip on his arm tightened. ‘You must go to them, King Asaph. You must find the dragons for they will have heard the sword find its master. Go now while they awaken. You must hurry. The dragons will follow the Dawn Bringer, but if they fall back to sleep, no man can awaken them again.’

  She brought the inner sense of urgency that had been nagging at him to the surface. He should go north this very moment.

  ‘You are right. First, I must tell the king what has happened here and help the
men, but then I shall go,’ said Asaph.

  ‘Look,’ she nodded over his shoulder. ‘The King is here.’

  Atop a spritely chestnut stallion and surrounded by his knights bearing the Carvon tabard of a white castle on a royal blue background, King Navarr hollered orders and the City Guard scattered to obey.

  ‘Go now. I need to start cleaning up the black energy of this place.’ Edarna scowled and pulled up her sleeves.

  ‘Take care of yourself, Edarna,’ said Asaph as he turned to go.

  ‘And you take care of Issa,’ said the witch.

  He nodded.

  Thinking no one was watching, the witch looked left and right, sidled nonchalantly past a guard who was looking the other way, and tiptoed into the trees within the temple gardens.

  Asaph grinned to himself.

  ‘And all this has been going on for weeks?’ asked an incredulous King Navarr as he paced before the blazing fire. He rubbed his short beard, frowning with worry.

  It was too hot in the dining room and Asaph loosened the collar of his new shirt—generously given to him by Navarr. Stuffed full of a four-course meal, he pushed his plate of cheese and biscuits back and leant his elbows upon the table. ‘Maybe months.’

  ‘Traitors! They will all be hanged at dawn,’ growled the King. He paused his pacing and looked out of the window at the night sky.

  ‘I know the one who started it,’ said Asaph. ‘She was the one who killed Coronos. A High Priestess now serving Baelthrom. Don’t worry, I will have revenge.’

  ‘And I will root out this evil in my city and destroy the Temple!’ said the King. ‘Carvon will not fall while I’m alive.’

  ‘I’m sorry to bring you this news,’ Asaph sighed. ‘Maybe Leaper and these other men will know more and can help you. I don’t know from what walks of life they come, but please look after them. They have been to the brink of death at the hands of the harpies. From what I have seen, they will make good fighting men. For now, I have given them some money from my savings so they can get clothing and food.’

  ‘Of course, it is incredible that any of you managed to survive. Your men are being fed as we speak. They can remain in nearby lodgings if they wish until they are strong and ready to go.’

  ‘That’s very generous, thank you. I recommend Leaper as a fine fighter. Perhaps he would do well to enter your service, my King,’ said Asaph, broaching the subject.

  ‘Indeed,’ said Navarr, nodding thoughtfully. ‘We could do with a few more in our ranks. I will have our master-at-arms test his abilities.’

  Asaph leant back in the chair, feeling strength return to him after the mountain of food he’d consumed. His eyes travelled to his swords leaning against the wall. With plain, strong lines, Coronos’ sword was beautiful in its solid, dependable simplicity, but beside it, the Sword of Binding was a masterpiece. With its red pommel, curved crossguard and bluish grey blade, it looked almost like a ceremonial sword but far more. Both broadswords gleamed in the firelight.

  Navarr’s weaponsmith was already working on a sheath for the dragon sword and he hoped it would be done before he left at dawn.

  Navarr followed his eyes. ‘So, that really is the fabled Sword of Binding? It looks like it was made yesterday.’

  ‘It is and it does,’ Asaph agreed. ‘There is not even a notch in it—even after I smashed it through a door earlier.’

  ‘There are strong magic enchantments on it, even after all this time,’ said Navarr.

  ‘Yes, they seem as unbreakable as the blade itself,’ agreed Asaph. ‘I cannot wield Coronos’ sword as well. Please look after it for me. It is all I have left of…’ He trailed off.

  Navarr nodded. ‘You sure you won’t stay? You’ve been through rather an ordeal.’

  ‘I would like to but I must go north. I should have already left.’ Asaph stood up, feeling that same sense of urgency. ‘As ever, my King, thank you for your hospitality. When I return, I will have a surprise and I won’t be alone. One day soon, Drax will be free and mighty again.’

  ‘May you have what you seek, King Asaph,’ said Navarr reaching out his hand.

  Asaph clasped his outstretched arm, king to king. For the first time, he felt almost the man’s equal. At this very moment, he was a king.

  Asaph followed a servant to a small dining room in the lower section of the castle where Leaper and the other men were having dinner.

  It was obvious Navarr was deeply disturbed by what was going on right under his nose, undermining his power, but Asaph worried that the King could not fix this problem. It would bury itself deeper and go underground, much like the light dwarves could never destroy the dark dwarves and stamp out their practises—they just crept away into the shadows. Evil, when detected, hid.

  The servant opened the door and Asaph entered. He passed his eyes over them, Leaper, Danny, Jekk, Renno and Blaise, all stuffing their mouths with cheese, biscuits and wine, just as he had been doing moments ago.

  Leaper grinned, set down his wine and stood. The man had washed away the dirt and blood, shaved, and tied back his fair hair—which Asaph could now see was shaved from his ears downwards. Like the others, he was dressed in new clothes; a simple shirt and woven trousers, given to them by the King. There was colour in his face and he looked full of life.

  The other men followed his lead, setting down their wine and standing, though more nervously.

  ‘Sit, sit, and eat,’ said Asaph motioning with his hands. ‘The food is good and the King is generous, so eat it all if you can.’

  ‘We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,’ said Danny. There were scratches on his face from harpy claws, and his green eyes were clouded with the horrors he had witnessed.

  ‘And I would not be here without any of you,’ said Asaph in all seriousness. ‘Alone, I would never have escaped.’

  ‘Is it true you are the long lost heir to the throne of Drax?’ asked Jekk. The dark haired man fiddled with his spoon nervously.

  Asaph took a deep breath. ‘I see that servants talk. Well, yes, for what it is worth, it’s true.’

  ‘And he’s a Dragon Lord—the last,’ blurted Leaper.

  ‘Then we are your men, loyal to you for saving our lives,’ said Renno. He was tall and wide with heavy muscle stretching his shirt tight. To Asaph’s horror, the big man stood up and dropped to his knee.

  ‘My King,’ he said.

  ‘What? No, get up,’ Asaph flustered, then stopped himself—a king needed men, men he could trust. These men could be his loyal entourage, his bodyguards and knights like King Navarr had. No, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Just because I recovered the sword…

  But he found himself saying, ‘In time, I will need loyal men. Will you be among them?’

  The men looked at each other and, seeing no doubt, nodded eagerly. Asaph smiled. In their brief time together they had already fought for each other’s lives—and survived. He knew he could trust them with his life. What more could a king ask of his men?

  ‘For now, I have to leave to go on a quest,’ Asaph said, finding the sword’s pommel in his grasp and his thoughts turning to the dragons. He had stayed here too long already.

  ‘Then we will come,’ said Leaper. ‘I lost my bricklaying job anyway. That’s why those bastards found me so drunk. And I prefer fighting.’ He stood up proudly and unashamed.

  ‘No, no one will come with me. I must go alone,’ said Asaph. ‘I’ll be going north—as far north as one can go.’

  ‘To the dragons,’ said Leaper under his breath, his face a mix of fear and awe.

  Asaph nodded once. ‘The time has come. Our world is plunging into darkness. Maybe they will help. They must help. I only hope it is not too late. When I return, I will need to form my own army. I intend to take back Drax.’ He clenched his fist. The men looked at him, half in wonder and half as if he were insane.

  ‘For now, stay here. Tell them everything that happened to you in the temple. King Navarr is a good man who values honesty. If he offers
you training, take it. If he offers you a place in his guard, take it.’

  ‘I would be honoured,’ said Renno. The man’s eyes were alight with prospects.

  The others agreed.

  Finding nothing more to say, Asaph inclined his head and turned towards the door. Leaper followed.

  ‘How long will it take?’ he asked.

  Asaph shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I only know that I cannot fail. Without the dragons, we can never fight the Dromoorai. If I don’t succeed, it is better I don’t return at all.’

  Leaper looked at the floor. ‘I don’t think you will fail. If you do, then we’re all lost anyway. Thank you, for saving me back there. I still feel half mad from the things I’ve seen. Terrible things.’ He looked at the floor as a tremble took hold of his shoulders.

  ‘Time,’ said Asaph, laying a hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘Time will help. And revenge. There are untold horrors occurring in this world as we speak. That is why we fight.’ He cast his eyes over all the men. ‘If we do not fight, evil will win. I will die rather than live in their world of barbarism and servitude.’

  Whatever haunted Leaper passed from his eyes and the man clenched his jaw, vengeful. ‘I mean it,’ he said. ‘And I’m sure they do too. We will fight and we are loyal to you now.’

  Asaph dropped his voice for only Leaper to hear. ‘Just look after them and be watchful. Baelthrom might attack at any moment. When we get the chance we’ll destroy the one who started it all. You saw her; the blonde woman, the High Priestess.’

  Leaper swallowed and nodded. ‘She’s not…human. She’s one of them but filled with vicious, cunning hatred. And the things that come out of the black hole…’

  ‘Leaper, don’t think about it. Think on better things. Don’t let the darkness in. A new dawn is coming; I promise you that while I still breathe. And with it a new age. We have to believe.’