“I know!” Raul snapped as he took in the underground bubble lined with glowing moss that supplied air for him to breathe while stacks of copied books and supplies were scattered haphazardly. It wasn’t as spacious anymore, but it was the only truly safe place he could hide in. “But I’m more frightened of him.” His Familiar simply grunted and stared with boredom. “At least she’s predictible.”
Deciding his partner was right, Raul reluctantly sent his magic on a special thread that would connect him to Laqura Castle. The sight mirror before him swirled from a dark grey to a clear vision of a large man of extreme power second only to the empress herself.
General Adair’s hazel eyes narrowed as he took in who contacted him and created a reverse finding to know it was exactly who contacted and none were listening. “Report, Raul. You’ve had near two weeks to find a solution to this situation.” Beside him the huge bull known as Colm raised his head, showing it wasn’t common cattle for it had a taste for meat, preferably slave. Red blood dripped from its snout.
“I’ve found a solution to our problems. It has been two years since I openly contacted my people. What news?” Adair’s complexion darkened and Raul realized the general wasn’t in any mood for explaining himself. “Very well, I know how to rid ourselves of the warlock.”
For once, Raul caught the general by genuine surprise. “So he is a warlock! The empress will be pleased with the news. Is he an experiment your friends concocted as our reports said before we lost twelve powerful sorcerers?”
“Where are you getting information? I’ve sent reports of the warlock for months, detailing all that happened in the meetings with the fool Zikon. He is from Earth, but I’ve yet to be told how it came about.”
“Ominous. If you’ve done this then someone has learned your ways if not of your true alliance to us… After my pets were killed by this man and his griffin. At least you’ve heard the empress’s orders on how to find a way to kill him.”
“Easier said than done. He is an elite warlock, bound to Daku, greatest griffin king to live in all of history. I have seen and felt their powers and I doubt you can kill him so easily as I tried to have done when Lady Megdline brought his existence to the council’s attention. He has only grown stronger so unless we attack with an assault of a hundred first class sorcerers to send against him and his two dragon guardians, there is but one alternative I’ve found to secretly get close enough to end him.”
General Adair’s expression darkened. “That great of commitment will have to be second should you fail.”
“Me!?” Raul was dumbfounded in realization he’d have to dirty his hands.
“Whatever your plan is, you will see through personally. If Twilight has learned of your spying, it is only a matter of time till you are discovered. Your bloodline must continue for we who glow must prosper over the unenlightened. When you are caught and interrogated, you will be killed by the fools who associate with the filth. After you kill the warlock you are to return to the empire so we can finish the war and finally realize our empress’s grand dream of unification. Now what is this plan? For now we may speak, I’ve made sure it is the two of us, but how long it’ll be this way will be troublesome to dally.”
Raul, first class sorcerer, spoke of the way he found to end the threat of the warlock. General Adair listened and decided “Then it must be done today, before he and the dragons make their way back to the territory that would allow Rex Gralla to stick her snout where it doesn’t belong. You will have one hour to prepare and finish or risk angering me and our empress.”
“It will be done.” With that the sight mirror ended. Both sorcerer and Familiar sighed.
“We must prove ourselves. Should all work, we will finally have the empress’s ear. You may even be so rewarded to have her bare you a son.” The gorilla mused.
“We must be cautious. This is an enemy we cannot afford to underestimate. We can fancy children when we succeed.”
Former third seat, first councilor Raul leaned back in his chair and set his mind to the task of readying for the encounter of the millennium.
“Winner, Moril!” Elder Metak shouted as he and his six women watched close.
All peoples of the Utala were summoned to witness the challenge to be chieftain and already five matches to those fighting for the title had passed. Twenty two had stepped forward to fill the one spot their chieftain was removed from. Sixteen were women and all were great warriors. Without Brooke and Cage interfering, people actually had a fighting chance.
Cage sat with Daku draped around his neck with Meeka and Tohka occupying his lap, each sitting on a thigh while he sat in the sand. By his side sat Brooke, Rena in her lap, arms wrapped around for comfort and proximity. Cage could see Brooke put on a good front though she was heartbroken. The balm was her daughter while the matches were a welcome distraction.
But Rena was preoccupied in her own little world as she fingered her left temple. Hanging from it was the single white bead passed down to all priestesses. No other female child wore beads till adulthood and if not for the situation, she wouldn’t be wearing one, nor will another be strung to her hair till her rise to womanhood.
Laying just outside the whole tribe were the pink and silver dragons. The noon sun overhead made their scales sparkle vibrantly. Some children crawled all over Poli when they got bored of the matches.
Next to pair up was Hammit and Quitte in the ring of elders where the beach sand was somewhat stained already with blood. They were the only pair to escape after the tunnel collapse and avoid capture like Meeka, Moril, Lanna and Zatal had. Then they worked together to reunite with the tribe. Metak slammed the butt of his spear into the sand to yell “Begin!” and the pair fiercely sprang at each other with knives drawn. The exchange was quick, but Hammit buried his knife almost to the hilt in Quitte’s thigh. Meeka had to rise to offer her services.
Elder Metak called the victor and like before with all serious injuries, Quitte’s injury glowed blue at Meeka’s request, itched fiercely and healed enough to not risk death or loss of mobility, but left enough flesh open to leave a scar in time.
While the next match was underway Sean could be seen playing in the sand with an eager Ananna, making mounds near a fire to keep warm.
Right before Cage knew the match was coming to an end everyone jumped almost out of their skin when a wail of sound suddenly went off. Those not already on their feet were there in an instant. Heads jerked to where it came from. At the top of the mountain glowed a red and black giant ball of light with a beam shooting to the north. The rising and fall of the siren proved this wasn’t a warning, but an imminent threat.
Ulon roared “What is its meaning!?”
Cage immediately sent his magic to the pillars to connect to the mana and ward network surrounding the entire island. His presence and a thought dimmed the sound, but didn’t make it vanish. The network, he could sense, began redirecting nonessential power to the northern reef, preparing. He flew up a quarter mile, Daku clutching his shoulders. Magically raising his voice he yelled “Attack incoming!” as he narrowed his eyes northward to see a far away disturbance. “Tidal wave! Will be here in five minutes!” He said as he flew back down. “Children, go to the shelter! Everyone else, get ready.”
His command wasn’t questioned as every child calmly gathered together. Rena stood with uncertainty till Brooke whispered in her ear to go with them. Zanza and the other heavily pregnant women moved to the children’s tree. Tohka looked to her loves before touching her breast where her topaz hung. She was worried as she saw Meeka draw her pair of knives, one being Nolan’s, and Brooke her tomahawks. She said “Be well loves.” And quickly kissed her mates before rushing with the two other nurturers, whispering the words she repeated over and over to understand the magic her man gave her. All warriors gathered arms with hunters at their back.
After the quick kiss, Cage stood between Daku’s shoulders as the griffin grew over forty feet tall in response to the threat, standing abov
e most trees. Standing to either side were the growling dragons. Cage said “Those colors over the mountain, the red and black, signify that red is magic and black a giant wave. It means the wave was made by magic.”
“Will your wards hold?” Poli asked. “From here, the size of that wave must be great. Unnatural. It is more than a quarter rotation’s flight across.”
“So long as the wave is made by water and debris, yes it will hold.” Cage was confident. “But it is too far to sense anything else. Since this is your new home, will you help me determine what caused it?”
Daku took off in a run that shook trees before any could answer. Ulon ran right behind while Poli took to the air. Minutes later they gathered on a high ledge to be there since they wouldn’t be able to reach the true north area before the rapidly approaching wave hits.
Ulon rumbled “A group of sorcerers could only have done this. No dragon would dare risk such devastation. Many will die as a result, but we are too late to stop its path. It has grown too far for the three of us. Cage Two-legs, we will do what we can. Such a spell is illegal and when the culprits are found, they will be killed for this!” Poli growled angrily to approve her mate’s words.
The water surge continued to grow and now it could be heard roaring in the distance louder than any wave Cage ever seen or heard before. Back at the village he glanced to see few still out as magic began tingling, explaining that the wards were active, a final line of defense should the main fail. The tidal surge then began growing taller as the deep water became shallower. It began consuming hundreds of millions of gallons of seawater, pulling it from the beach. The four of them watched as the great reef that surrounds the entire island became visible. As the wave rode up with unstoppable intent, it grew to true skyscraper heights, slightly smaller than the island’s lone mountain and carried enough to wash over it in one watery bite.
Ulon, Cage and Poli, without word or practice, channeled their three vast resources into a cohesive unit. With their combined efforts they crafted a massive shield around themselves and the trees for over a mile around themselves for a third line while sending their awareness into the turbulent mass of water. By the time the island’s reef was fully exposed and the wave got close enough the network of crystals, wards automatically activated.
The impact shook the land violently. Cage and the others watched as the sphere of magic wasn’t visible, but it impacted the full brunt of the super, mountain high tidal wave. The wards didn’t flex as water washed around it. The momentum of the wave flowed till the cloudless sky darkened and the sun’s rays were warped by the sea. Cage fed his extra mana into the network that took a sharp blow, but from all it had gathered and stored over the months, maybe ten percent was drained. Ulon meanwhile roared as a giant pink ball of energy a quarter mile wide gathered before being launched to the west, Poli’s silver ball of similar size shot east and connected to the flowing path of water parting around the island when they were sure no extra spells tasked to break the island’s defenses were present.
Like a lightning strike, the wave was attacked by the balls of dragon magic. As they connected Cage noticed the super wave quiver and seemed to glow marginally. By the time it reached the backside of the island and the main defenses held strong, Ulon created a sight mirror and immediately the orange coloring of Rex Gralla appeared. He immediately began speaking in Draconian and the Rex narrowed her eyes before roaring. In the room with her were dozens of elder dragons who lifted their heads to roar before all Jumping out.
Only because of Cage’s new and powerful eyes could he see an elder dragon of bright blue color Jump to the area many miles away and immediately sent a massive blast of magic to the super wave flowing below. A faint blast further to the west told of another dragon working together to hold off the giant wave.
“Was that magic you two fired off some form of beacon the elder dragons used to teleport nearby?” Cage asked.
“Yes.” Poli said as she pulled her magic out of the union. Ulon was next, but followed Cage’s flowing of mana to continue fortifying against the smaller tidal waves that followed in the wake of the original. Manipulating a series of holes to properly refill the lost water around the reef so as to limit a rush to fill the gaps water would mindlessly fill, she continued. “Rex Gralla needed it so our people could find it instantly and stop the destruction. This crime will not go unpunished. Did you sense the mana that created it?” She asked her mate.
“Three two-leg sorcerers of highest order, made and sent it less than an hour ago, giving enough time to spread through most of the ocean. They are gone, but I have them!” Ulon growled, working a complex spell while conjuring another sight mirror. It was hazy till he overwhelmed the puny power and showed three people Jumping randomly, their staffs glowing with power. “There!” he roared and just before the three managed to Jump again they were enveloped in a pink sphere and disappeared. “Our Rex will learn this plot.” He said in a much calmer tone.
Cage watched the tourmaline gem continuing to twinkle with power after the male dragon stopped using magic and it spoke volumes that the power expended to forcibly Jump three sorcerers from a range unknown required tremendous power. Cage knew for he knew the same spell and it taxed a great deal of power.
“Cage, let’s check the flock.” Daku voiced.
“Poli, can you do it?” Cage asked as he concentrated. “I’ve allowed holes all around the island and must monitor them. I can’t let anything slip in while refilling the void all around us.”
In answer she spun around and jumped off the high ledge. Landing moments later by the village, letting her sixth sense of magic to spread and search for any injured. To her side she saw two boats slowly rising along the pier as water rose back to proper levels again. In the water she grimaced as she sensed the dead sea life but was heartened when all the people were well. She locked eyes with the few human’s who stood outside the protected trees and called “Danger has passed. You may come out.”
Slowly the trees were emptied, all talking at once. Some ran to horses and charged away. For protection, many children approached her and she wrapped her long tail around the group, glad they saw her as someone who would defend them though they were not her young.
It took minutes to refill water around the island and fix the reef, but when water wouldn’t be so greatly sucked away like the first time, Cage closed the holes and dropped to his knees in soft fur. Ulon remained busy, relaying reports to other dragons of what occurred. Daku also translated that not two minutes after the dragons got involved the wave was stilled. The island’s wards though kept flaring against the wave sets too large to let pass.
Then suddenly the mountain’s light turned yellow and beamed a light to the east. Cage and others snapped their attention to find two hovering individuals outside the pillars, high above the troubled waters. Through narrowed eyes to focus on supernatural distance magic gifted, realized the visitor.
“Well that was fast.” Cage sighed and drew on his stores to replenish his depleted mana, but didn’t alter the siphoning rate.
Daku and Ulon agreed as they leapt off the ledge and flew down to Poli who spoke to the children who again fled when someone unknown was near. The four of them recognized the man and Familiar so Daku shrunk and landed on Cage’s shoulder before a board was created to fly. Ulon and Poli walked on water and followed the warlock outside the pillars. Cage was the first to ask “Raul, what are you doing here?” he remembered this Raul character as one of the five sorcerers on the Fist Council who wanted him dead for just being a warlock. “We’re in the middle of a crisis, make it quick. How did you get here so fast. It takes time to leave Twilight yet you’re here in less than three minutes after an attack.”
“We were out when Zikon called on us. Says you must return…” He tried hiding a smile while lying through his teeth.
Suddenly Cage’s instincts shot off for a reason. He felt bloodlust from these two, but the Familiar hid it better. The timing, the smoothness of Raul’s
voice and their casual body language as they levitated in the air was off. No one could be so at ease unless… “You’re the mastermind!” And Cage summoned his power to shoot a massive fireball of black energy. With a sudden thrust that threw Daku off his shoulder he shot forward to make a stronger impact.
Before Cage could shoot it off, a dark gray bubble of energy surrounded him.
With a pop being the only sound, Cage vanished.
Ulon and Poli’s jaws dropped in disbelief as Raul’s spell concealing his glowing skin revealed itself. None in Twilight knew he too glowed with immense power. The only way he could have Jumped Cage so fast was if he was already working a spell from the moment of arrival.
Another gray sphere appeared as he confidently sneered “Our problem is taken care of.” And went to Jump away.
Just as the magic was about to sent him instantly to safety, Daku released a primal shrill roar of rage as he quadrupled in size and shot forward like a loosed arrow. The rage and magic within the scream shredded all active magic. His hand speared forth passed the destroyed portal of the sorcerer. Daku’s griffin magic prevented Raul’s escape as his power was pitiful next to the king’s and no barrier or magic slowed his talons from tearing into flesh. The sorcerer screamed while the gorilla fell since it was his master who cast the levitating spell. Daku’s rage to rip the man apart was only halted by his worry for his most valued friend and companion. His eagle’s head shrieked “Where did you send him!?”
Below, Ulon struck like a snake, biting the gorilla Familiar before it hit the water. It struggled, but no prey fought a dragon once in those jaws. A few crushing chomps temporarily killed it, but it wouldn’t die till Daku killed its master.
Raul coughed up blood and tried struggling. Using magic to free himself. Fire, lighting, force. Nothing worked on the enraged griffin who grew larger than a house. His fingers dug deeper as he prepared to throw the fool. As he did he yelled “Bind him and don’t let him die till we get what we want!”
Ascension of the Warlock (Book 4 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 30
