by Bianca D’Arc
“How can you be certain it is them?” Skelaroth asked.
“Well, we haven’t seen any other traffic on this road so far. If there are others traveling along it, they are either far ahead or far behind. No other group that I know of would use magic to shield their presence from above, so we would be able to see others on the road as we fly along.”
Skelaroth nodded. “Good point. I see nothing in the far distance, and looking back, I see only one lonely farm cart that started out of Oler not long after we did.”
Ella flitted over to examine the broken stems on the bush. She had the ability to hover in one place that most dragons lacked. She seemed to sniff the air around the broken foliage then followed a scent trail a little way down the road before turning back to land on Liam’s shoulder.
“Magic,” she said quietly. “Close, now.”
“Well, that clinches it,” Liam observed. “I think we should prepare ourselves as best we can for confrontation. But how do we get to them if they cannot be seen from the air?”
“Can’t hide from me,” Ella announced, making all of them look at her in surprise.
“Are you sure, sweetheart?” Liam asked the virkin, tilting his head to look at her.
Ella nodded. “Can see through all kinds of magic,” she affirmed, sounding a tiny bit smug.
Liam let out a short laugh. “And just when were you going to tell us this?”
“Now. When close. No need before,” she insisted, making Rivka shake her head. That little virkin was slyer than Rivka had expected.
“She’s got you there,” Rivka admitted, chuckling softly. “So, that problem is settled. We’ll take short, slow hops, and with any luck, Mistress Ella will be able to spot them before they spot us.”
“Not maybe,” Ella insisted. “For sure.”
After worrying this whole trip about how they would find the magically protected group of pirates, Ella’s sudden disclosure was a relief to Rivka. They flew as stealthily as they could, keeping to either side of the roadway, flying low, just over the tops of the trees and gliding as much as possible, to limit noise.
About a half hour after the stop where Rivka had found the broken twigs, Ella called out to everyone in a surprisingly strong mental call. “See them!” she said. “Going up.”
The road in this area rose and fell over gentle green hills, for the most part, but up ahead there was a higher point that was not covered in trees or greenery. The bare rock left the hilltop exposed more than any other around. It was a perfect spot for a battle, as far as Rivka was concerned. The only problem was that the enemy would see them coming.
“If we can catch them on the hilltop, we need to do it with speed,” Skelaroth observed.
“A fast attack,” Rivka agreed, thinking hard about how this could work.
“I go first,” Ella surprised them by saying, hopping out of the satchel she had ridden in, to this point, and standing on Skelaroth’s back, just in front of Liam. “Get me close and drop me,” she instructed.
“Are you sure about this, Ella?” Liam asked his companion, but Ella’s attention was focused on the hilltop that was looming closer.
“I go at last tree,” Ella insisted, drawing Rivka’s attention to the thinning tree canopy, and the fact that, once past it, they would be very visible to anyone on the ground.
If this worked, Ella would pierce the veil of protection over the small group of pirates just after Rivka and Skelaroth broke cover. If everyone could see everyone else, at that point, Rivka would count it as a small victory. What came after Ella did her magic-busting thing was up to the dragons…and Liam.
All too quickly, they arrived at the spot where the last trees grew on their way up the rocky slope. Ella dove off of Skelaroth’s back and folded her wings like a stooping falcon. She angled her flight a bit, and when she hit the invisible barrier of the mage’s protection, it popped like the bubble Ella had called it.
The mage had a moment to scream in what sounded like terror and rage just before his protections fell. A split second later, the four horsemen were visible, riding hard on four sweat-streaked horses, up the rocky hill. At first, none of them seemed to realize they could be seen. Then, the one Rivka now recognized as the mage lifted his head in confusion and dawning alarm. Ella flew at him, her little claws raking the man’s raised hand before she streaked off in another direction.
Time to act. Rivka saw the opening and began her own diving descent. But Skelaroth was before her. He landed on the peak of the hill, stopping the horses in their tracks. Two of the four reared and dumped their riders into the dust of the road before streaking off, back the way they’d come. The other two—the horses that carried the mage and one other man—kept their riders, though only the mage’s horse didn’t rear at the dragon’s sudden appearance. The other pirate kept his seat, only because he was a better horseman than his companions.
But not for long. Rivka came up behind the two men still on horseback, and this time, the third pirate lost his mount. She allowed the terrified horse to get past her to gallop back down the road. If they had to, they could always catch up with the animals later. It was the men they had to deal with, right now.
Rivka wanted that mage dead for what he’d done to Skelaroth and for the allies he’d chosen. He wanted to bring evil back into the world, but there was no way she would let that happen. Not on her watch.
“Flame him!” Ella urged, flitting back toward the road and the imminent battle.
Rivka figured it was worth a try. She opened her mouth even as the mage lifted his hands to utter some dark spell. Ella had damaged him a little. One of his arms dripped blood. But he was by no means neutralized.
Rivka let loose with a stream of fire. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Liam slide off Skelaroth’s back, sword in hand, ready to do battle. She engaged the mage, who had managed to erect a much smaller bubble of protection around himself. Even if she only kept the mage busy while the others fought, it was something. This sorcerer would not be allowed to interfere. She would not let him use his evil magic to influence the outcome of the battle ahead. His meddling days would soon be over, if Rivka had anything to say about it.
Liam was ready for a fight. He saw Fisk. For the first time in years, he was face to face with his old nemesis. This time, he vowed, Fisk would die. Fire erupted behind Fisk. Liam spared a single glance to note that Rivka had engulfed the mage in her flame, effectively cutting off the two henchmen who were on foot. They’d have to go wide around the fireball if they wanted to help their leader.
“It’s been a long time, Fisk,” Liam said once the other man caught sight of him. Fisk’s curved rapier was out and ready.
“Not long enough, O’Dare.” The pirate captain spat on the ground between them. “I should’ve killed you long ago.”
“I feel the same.” Liam cursed as he lunged, and their swords rang against each other with the clamor of steel against steel.
They were well matched. Fisk hadn’t let himself go in the years since they’d last met in mortal combat. The last time they fought was when Fisk had daringly tried to board Liam’s own ship.
Liam had let Fisk get close enough, confident that his crew could hold their own against the pirates. Up to that point, Fisk had no knowledge of the fact that Liam had been quietly replacing his merchant crew with trained fighters. He had hoped for just such an encounter on the high seas, where he could put his crew up against Fisk’s and his blade against the other captain’s.
Liam had gotten his wish, but Fisk had over-crewed his ship, and it was all Liam’s people could do to repel the boarding party. Fisk had come over—overconfident as he always was—and Liam had wasted no time engaging the other captain, blade to blade. They had fought to a draw when Fisk had one of his henchmen pull alongside the ship with a longboat. Fisk had saluted Liam with his sword before dropping over the side to land in the longboat that was rowing away at top speed.
Liam had ordered his ship to follow, but they had been u
nable to find Fisk’s ship in a sudden fog bank. A very mysterious appearance on an otherwise cloudless night. Liam had suspected magical interference, even back then, but he’d had no real proof. Now, he knew better.
Liam was aware of the wall of flame to one side. Fisk couldn’t really move the fight in that direction without risk to himself. The road went downward on the other side, offering no protection. Across from him, there was a steep drop off where part of the hill had sheared away. From the air, there had looked to be no safe way down and quite a bit of danger if one ventured too close to the edge. Behind was a downward slope of rock and pebbles, which posed dangers of their own.
The fight moved around, testing the boundaries of their location, and Liam got pushed back to where his feet found the uncertain slope of loose rock. He slipped and fell to one knee, seeing stars for a moment as pain engulfed him. Not good. But he wouldn’t let a sore knee hinder him. Not when he finally had Fisk in his sights. He regained his footing and pressed forward, rushing Fisk and taking the fight to the middle of the hard-packed road, then beyond.
Liam became aware of the two henchmen rounding the wall of flame that still poured from Rivka’s dragonish mouth. They were coming to help their leader, but Skelaroth imposed himself between the ongoing sword battle and the wall of flame, clinging to the edge of the cliff with his back talons while gathering the two henchmen—one in each tightly fisted forehand, caged within sharp talons. The men struggled but couldn’t move.
Fisk didn’t let it distract him and neither did Liam when Skelaroth winged away, taking the two pirates with him. Liam trusted the sea dragon to take good care of those fiends. It was up to Liam to take care of their boss.
Rivka let loose with the flame that she had never turned on a human being before. She knew, one day, she might have to do so, and her dragon side had no problem with it, but her human half felt a bit of squeamishness about the whole thing. Unfortunately, the mage had reformed his shield of protection and was fighting back. He’d already managed to push her flame farther away from himself, though his robes were a little singed.
Rivka took a moment to regroup and draw breath. The mage studied her as she looked at him. He was waving his hands around, probably casting some sort of spell, but she needed a moment to gather air before she could flame, again. Producing a sustained stream of fire took a lot out of her both physically and magically.
Just as the sorcerer was about to unleash whatever spell he had been conjuring, Ella reappeared, screaming in from an oblique angle, claws outstretched in front of her as if to pierce the bubble of protection around the mage, once again. This time, however, she broadcast a message to the mage that Rivka could also hear.
“I am vengeance. I am justice,” she said, sounding very un-Ella-like, using big words and complete sentences. Almost as if she had memorized these things to say upon this occasion. “The virkin of Elderland trusted you, Ruloff, and you betrayed us.” Ella’s claws struck the magical shield, and it popped once more, leaving the mage vulnerable to her sharp little talons, which she used to good effect, raking his uninjured arm. Now, he had matching red stains all along both of his forearms.
“Damn you, silly creature! Damn you and all your kind!” the mage screamed as Ella wheeled off, as if readying herself for another pass.
“For your crimes against virkin, you have been judged, and now, you will pay,” Ella went on, hovering just behind Rivka’s right wing. “Am done. Flame now, please.”
That last bit sounded more like the Ella Rivka had come to know over the past days. She was recovered enough to let loose with another torrent of flame. This time, it found its mark on the unprotected sorcerer’s person. His robes, in particular, went up with great fervor as the man twisted in agony and screamed.
Thankfully, he didn’t scream for long. He was dead within moments, though it was still a little too long for Rivka’s human half. The dragon side, however, felt great satisfaction as having ended a force for evil.
When all that was left of the mage was smoldering ash, Rivka turned her attention to the greater battle. Skelaroth was flying off somewhere with two squirming bundles in his claws. Pirates, she assumed. It was Liam who caught her attention as he battled with Fisk. They were deep into a sword fight, and both were bloody in places. Liam limped a bit, favoring one knee, and Fisk kept aiming for it, as if to exploit any weakness.
Before Rivka could even move, Fisk had pressed his advantage and driven Liam to the ground. Ella took off like a shot, rushing over to Liam, where he lay on the ground, and imposing her bubble of protection over him. Fisk would have landed a serious blow, if not for her shield, and it gave Liam a moment to regroup when Fisk rebounded off the invisible barrier and momentarily lost his balance.
Liam got up and chased after the pirate captain, slashing at Fisk as they danced closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Rivka held her breath as the battle raged on. Either one of the men could easily fall to his death, but she didn’t dare intervene, lest she distract Liam at a crucial moment.
She positioned herself so that, if Liam fell, she could try to swoop down and catch him. It would be hard, though she’d do her best to save him if the worst should happen, but even as she moved closer to the edge, the tide of battle turned. Liam pushed forward, again, making Fisk scramble. The pirate captain was quick on his feet, but he was definitely on the defensive as Liam pressed every advantage. She held her breath, the sword action a blur that was almost too fast to follow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Liam felt calm come over him as his focus narrowed to just the ring of steel on steel, the dance of feet playing near the edge of an abyss. When he’d imagined this confrontation in the past, he’d always imagined rage would power him, but it wasn’t rage that fueled his fervor. It was justice.
Something inside him knew that he was confronting the face of evil and that he would be the instrument to end it, once and for all. Rivka had dealt with the mage. Skelaroth had taken away the henchmen. And Ella—sweet little Ella—had played a pivotal part he never could have anticipated. Now, this last bit was up to him.
Liam had thirsted for vengeance for the death of his wife. Somewhere along this journey, the revenge motive had dropped away, to be replaced by the fervent desire to do what was right and serve the side of good. Fisk had harmed more than just Liam. He’d run amok for decades, wreaking havoc. Even now, he planned to do something incredibly disruptive and dangerous to all the lands, by taking the page from Gryffid’s magic book to a place it should never be allowed to go. Liam’s driving need now, was not for vengeance, but to make things right for all those who sought peace and security in the world of men and dragons.
That revelation gave him the strength to push on when he was on his last dregs of energy. It gave him the resolve to stretch his skills to their very breaking point…and beyond. He danced close to the edge, uncaring of his own safety. Some higher power was driving him, lifting him, assisting him. He must not fail. He could not fail.
With a final flourish, Liam pressed the tip of his sword against Fisk’s unprotected chest and pushed gently for that split second of shock on Fisk’s face. The pirate lost his battle for balance and slipped over the edge of the cliff…into oblivion.
“That was for Olivia,” Liam said in a grave voice as he stepped to the edge and saw Fisk’s crumpled body far below. It wasn’t clear at a glance if the pirate who had caused so many, so much pain was finally dead, but he wasn’t moving.
Liam sank to his knees, his energy momentarily deserting him. The battle had been fierce. He needed a moment to regroup. Ella came to him, even as Rivka slipped over the edge of the cliff in her dragon form, gliding downward to pick up Fisk’s body and bring it back to the hilltop. As she set Fisk down in the middle of the road, Liam felt Ella’s energy flowing into him, beginning to heal the worst of his hurts.
“Thank you, Ella,” he told the virkin gently. “But don’t tire yourself. You’ve already done so much. I want you to save some of you
r energy for yourself, my dear.”
Ella snuggled into his shoulder and made a purring sound of happiness. “You did good, Leem. Just like my mama said.”
He put Ella’s surprising words away for later consideration as Rivka shifted into her human form. Liam got to his feet and joined her in the middle of the road. He bent down to check Fisk’s pockets for the all-important page from Gryffid’s book, when Fisk took a wheezing gasp and one hand came up to grab at Liam’s arm.
Liam reared back, but it was clear Fisk had no real fight left in him. The pirate’s eyes opened, even as blood trickled out of his nose and mouth.
“It’s not over,” Fisk rasped as he lost his grip on Liam’s arm and fell back to the ground.
“It is for you,” Liam said quietly, relieving Fisk of the packet of papers that had been in his breast pocket.
“That’s it!” Ella put in from Liam’s shoulder. “Old magic paper.”
Liam unfolded the packet and saw ancient writing on yellowed parchment. This had to be the page they were looking for, hadn’t it? He held it up for Rivka to see.
“That looks like what we’re after,” she confirmed. “Though, only Gryffid can say for certain.”
“You will never make it to…the wizard,” Fisk rasped.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Rivka said.
Liam would have said more, but Fisk took one last rattling breath, and then, he slipped away. The bastard was finally dead.
And Liam felt a little empty.
*
Skelaroth returned not long after the pirate captain breathed his last. The two henchmen were no longer in his talons.
“What did you do with them?” Rivka asked, curious.
