The wizard shook his head. He could tell by the look on Ryxa’s face that this could end up being a problem. “I wish he’d stop saying that.”
The egg moved slightly. “Father, will you teach me how to fly.”
“Oh sure. I’ll jump off the cliff and fly like a rock. Ryxa I think I should be going back before something awful happens.”
“No one will need to teach you how to fly dear you’ll just know how to fly.”
Ash flew into the cave and landed beside the nest. “You must be the boy wizard? I’m Ash the dragon wizard.”
Marcus thought he was a handsome little dragon, small in comparison to Ryxa, both black and red in color. “I’ve heard about you and I guess you’ve heard about me.”
“I have indeed,” said Ash. “Everyone likes to talk about sorcerers. Ryxa you play with humans?”
Ryxa shrugged. “I don’t play with him he’s my friend.”
“Marcus how did you get up here?”
“I flew up on Ryxa’s back.”
Ash scratched his head, a large black parasite fell and he ate it. “I wouldn’t think that was allowed? Or is it different because he’s a wizard? I have a spell and have come to strengthen your eggs.” He looked at the eggs and saw that the shells had been turned to stone. “Did you do that?”
“I did,” said Marcus.
“Hmm.” Ash tapped on the shell with his very sharp claw. “I don’t know if that was such a good idea. Are they going to be able to break out of there?”
“Who’s tapping out there? Where’s my father is he gone?” said the baby dragon.
Ash had a strange look on his face and he continually blinked his eyes, moving through a myriad of spells but none of which could remove Marcus’s spell. “Oh my I can’t break the spell. I was going to change it but I guess I can’t.”
That had Ryxa a little worried. “You don’t think that I’ll be able to break them open when the time comes?”
“Well,” Ash thought. “Since that’s a physical thing and not a magical one I really don’t know. But hopefully you will be able to.”
The wand vibrated. We’ll be able to get them out when the time comes.
“Don’t worry Ryxa I’ll be able to get them out when the time comes.” Marcus climbed on Ryxa’s back. “We should get together and talk some time dragon wizard, but now I need to get going.”
They flew off heading for Leeander as Ash stared down at the eggs. Was the boy actually more potent than he was?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ASH AND HIS PURPLE FRIEND had flown more than a thousand miles, being a baby there was so much in the world that he hadn’t seen and it was so wonderful to discover new things and new smells. Nighith and Ash were becoming good friends and he liked the stories that the purple dragon told of his homeland but he didn’t dare go there because of what his mother had said. Nighith and his family had decided to explore a different part of the world due to their adventurous spirit; they had flown off with no particular destination in mind.
They noticed a volcano in the far distance in the middle of a huge lake, a plume of ash escaping from it so they decided to get closer and have a look. They both thought it fascinating even though Nighith had seen volcanoes before but Ash had not. They circled it from a distance; the purple dragon had seen a volcano blow once before and it was quite something to see but there was no way of knowing if this one would erupt soon or perhaps not at all.
“Nighith that is so beautiful,” said Ash. “Look at all that smoke.”
The purple dragon took off flying as fast as he could. “I’ll beat you to it.”
“Hey!” Ash shouted. “Wait for me!” The wizard knew that Nighith would certainly beat him to the volcano because he was older and faster and was already quite far ahead, his wings were double the size of Ash’s wings.
Nighith flew through the very edge of the ash that the volcano was spewing forth and was instantly transformed into a large reddish-purple egg, falling rapidly Ash tried his best to catch up but he was too far away. He was horrified to see the egg smash into a rock on the volcano’s slope being completely destroyed. The wizard blinked his eyes as he frantically went through his spells in hopes of saving his friend but he had nothing, his fate had been sealed.
Ash cried as he flew home; he would never go back there again. The experience would stay with him forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
THE STAFF OF HERDING stood surrounded by an orange glow, standing magically. It was made from wishing wood and forged by some unknown sorcerer, an impressive looking thing, a low barely perceptible hum originated from it. Information on its general location had been in Asher’s tome that he had pilfered from a book collector who wasn’t aware of how special the book was, and so had bought it for next to nothing, a small silver coin that wasn’t actually silver. Near the top of the staff were three small crystal spheres that were attached to one another, a triangular configuration, and on top of that a carving of a sorcerer’s head with a white beard. Inside the spheres a small orange light continually made its way from one crystal to another, seemingly jumping. Although Kapano, Aewyn and Asher had tried many times they just didn’t have enough enchanted energy to activate the staff but if they could get their hands on Marcus’s wand it might be a different story. Perhaps it would take the boy himself to activate it?
Asher sat in a hammock that was attached to two walls with magic, staring alternatingly at the staff and at his foot where he was missing his big toe; it felt like he could wiggle it even though it wasn’t there, how peculiar. He liked to imagine what he could accomplish with the staff, to make people, dragons or any other kind of beast do exactly what he wanted them to do. The thought did enter his head that with it he might not need the other two sorcerers. Some might mistakenly think it a minor weapon, but he envisioned being in control of a powerful dragon, or a king. Much could be done with such a weapon. They could make their enemies kill themselves, make anyone go out and search for rare magical ingredients for them, saving them much time. The possibilities were endless.
“Come on boy take the bait already,” he thought aloud.
Kapano appeared. “Asher come and see.”
In the kitchen over the hearth boiled an iron pot with steam rising from it and so did spiders. The spiders were black with yellow abdomens, and although no one knew why it was an indicator that a spell had been put together improperly.
“We have to get the pot out of here before it kills us.” Aewyn looked at Asher. “You were in charge of the ingredients what did you do?”
Asher looked like the cat that had eaten the mouse. “Well I dropped my big toe in it but it was in there for only a short time.” He grabbed the handle of the pot using a piece of cloth and ran out into the tunnel, opening a slide to the lower level he dropped it down and as he was returning to the chamber it exploded, shaking the ground for miles around.
Aewyn shook his head at Asher. “Stop carrying that damn thing around; you examine it as if it is something precious. It’s only a dirty toe. Put the thing away or get rid of it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
STONE HAD SUSTAINED A SERIOUS WOUND in his leg as the battle raged and he was losing a lot of blood, seeing spots before his eyes. The niiwu were on the warpath now, at least a dozen more running out of the forest, including Kromska who tossed one of his magical spheres at them and as it hit the ground a silver circle spread out like a rock in a pond, sounding as if it had the weight of ten dragons, knocking everyone off their horses.
Several more niiwu were killed but as more were pouring out of the forest Stone called for a retreat, never having known them to have had the use of magic, a disturbing development to say the least. The knights expected to be pursued as they headed back toward Leeander, and they had to stop to fight several times on the way back but at least they didn’t lose any more knights, finally the niiwu called off their attack.
Marcus arrived back in Leeander on Ryxa’s back and rushed into the ca
stle where Stone lay prone on the table as his wound was being attended to by a beautiful young woman named Myra; she had a gift for healing and made her rounds throughout the kingdom, helping anyone in need. She couldn’t completely heal a gash like Stone had received but she could get the healing process off to a good start.
Marcus ran into the chamber where Stone was lying on a long table. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Stone grimaced as Myra was attempting to get all the dirt out of his wound. “I’ll live. I never thought I’d see the day that the niiwu would be using magic.”
“They used magic? Are you sure?” Marcus waved his wand over Stone’s injury and it immediately commenced to heal, but then the wound reversed as it re-opened, expelling several pieces of dirt and a small amount of blood and then the gash closed and Stone was completely healed although it did leave quite a scar.
“One of them threw a fireball at us. I have never seen so many of them in one spot either.” The knight was impressed at Marcus’s magical healing abilities. “It’s good to have a powerful wizard on our side.”
“Yes indeed,” said king Darius as he entered the chamber. He checked the scar on Stone’s right thigh. “That is good work Marcus.”
“Thank you father,” said the sorcerer. “Stone you’ve lost a lot of blood so you’ll be weak until your body makes more. You’ll need to regain your strength before you fight again.”
“Yes mother,” said Stone. “Marcus did you destroy those damn wizards? There are three of them down there and they’ve killed more of my men.”
Marcus shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Not yet and I can only do one thing at a time. Ryxa has gone back to sit on her eggs and when she returns we’ll burn the niiwu out of there. I’m not sure what to do about the wizards, Adorok warned me not to go down because I would never come out but I don’t know of any other way to destroy them. I have to think on it.”
The sound of Marcus’s golden knights bumping into one another was heard in the hallway; since it was their duty to protect the wizard they didn’t like it when he flew off without them but they couldn’t keep up with the speed of a dragon.
Stone sat up and stared into Marcus’s blue eyes. “Do you think you can return Cyrus to his natural form? He’s got a good lecture coming from me and I feel silly talking to a rock.”
Marcus nodded. “I guess it’s time.”
Raina ran in and hugged Marcus. “Oh I’m so glad you’re back.”
He took Raina by the hand. “I need some food and some rest and some time to think as well.”
Cyrus was back in human form and knew he had to apologize to Stone for his behavior but the idea of it stuck in his throat. Why should he? It wasn’t as if they were wedded. Besides Marcus acted as if he really didn’t want to marry her anyway. Perhaps he should just run off and make a life of his own? He really didn’t like the idea of being ordered around, might be best to simply go out and explore, besides a knight spent his entire life being ordered around by the king.
Cyrus wondered if he could get his hands on the wizard’s wand would he be able to use it? Maybe he could sell it to some other wizard for a pouch full of gold coins or in exchange for some powerful spell.
Cyrus was summoned to the stables where he did indeed get a good talking to and several warnings and reminders of the expected conduct of a knight. He had been in there over an hour before Stone informed him that it would be his job to clean out the stables for the next week, reminding him that another incident would likely end in his dismissal.
Cyrus was not impressed. “Stone, I need some time to think. Perhaps knighthood is not in my best interest. I believe I shall need at least a week to consider my future; it might be best that I set out on my own. There are magical items out there, some that can be used by regular people. If I could find one it might change my destiny.”
Stone was surprised to hear what he had to say and was definitely disappointed. “It’s a dangerous world out there and you would probably not survive a single encounter with a niiwu. But you do that Cyrus. And should you decide that you want to be a knight the stable will await your return.”
Cyrus turned and removed himself from the stable, having a self-satisfied smile that Stone couldn’t see.
Marcus, Raina and king Darius were having a meal of pork and fowl.
“I must say that you make a handsome couple,” said the king. “When the time comes for you to have children they shall be lucky to have a wizard for a father eh Marcus?”
Marcus nodded. “I’ll tie them all up in the dungeon.”
“No you won’t,” said Raina. Of course she knew that he spoke in jest.
A dark circular thing suddenly appeared above Marcus’s head, as if a hole had been cut into the air itself and was as black as night.
“Marcus run!” exclaimed the king, it must surely be an attack from the wizards.
Marcus fell off his chair as he tried to get away from the circular hole that floated above him, simultaneously grabbing his wand and blowing a hole in the high wooden celling as he launched a lightening bold, dust tumbled from the high beams into everyone’s food. The black hole pursued him as he ran for his life out of the Great Hall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
HOOVES WERE THUMPING on the soft forest ground as they rode, approaching another section of the dark forest. Alexa, Merrill and Obed galloped through a wide section of forest path three abreast, the wind blew the scent of baking bread from somewhere. What Obed thought was going to be a relatively straightforward quest to retrieve Knightshade’s sword was turning out to be anything but and he was starting to think that he might not make it back to Leeander in one piece. Stone would not approve of risking their lives for such a quest and might not even want the damn sword but the princess had her mind set.
Alexa halted her horse suddenly at the edge of the dark forest. This part of the woods looked different than the last time she was here; the soil was unusually red for one thing. But magic could change things and there was obviously a wizard wandering around here somewhere. Were they in fact lost? It might be best not to bring that up. Royalty had to always appear to know what they were doing, even when they didn’t.
“What is it Princess?” said Merrill. “What’s wrong?”
Alexa stared straight ahead. “I thought I saw something move in there.” She thought it a sufficient distraction and then commenced to move forward and they followed.
They entered the darkness and it was hard on the eyes, as if they had gone instantly from noon to the blackness of midnight, and although they could see the light of day not far behind them its brilliance did not encroach upon the darkness and no shadows were cast by it. Obed’s horse whinnied as it became uncomfortable about something it was sensing and then they all saw it to their left, the cutest cottage surrounded by wild daisies, white smoke leaving its chimney and disappearing up into the tall conifer trees. A rocky path led to its oak door. The dwelling was glowing and as they stared at it other cottages suddenly became visible; a well was the focal point of the village, with everything else built around it.
The cottage that was the closest to the three knights suddenly had two pairs of yellow eyes that were seen from within, one set in the left window and the other set on the right, with the flicker of candles behind them.
“We’d best move along Princess,” said Merrill. “Although it looks pleasant there could be danger.”
The cottage door burst open and two short and fat little creatures emerged, so fat that they were almost round and Alexa giggled at the sight of them. Obed didn’t think that they would even reach his knees. They were so cute with their furry ears and adorable faces but she knew that cute things could be as deadly as ugly things and occasionally even more so. More of them exited their dwellings and waddled over looking up at the three knights, being such diminutive creatures one would have thought that they would have been frightened of the huge and fully armed knights but they weren’t.
“Be doing wha
t here?” said Melfelfa.
“We’re just moving through,” said Alexa.
“True is not! For the sword you search. This month second one.”
“Second one what?” asked Obed.
“Sword seeker, second one.”
Alexa nodded. “Oh I think he’s saying we’re the second to come through here in search of the sword this month.”
“Aye said that aye.”
Merrill nodded. “Has the weapon been taken then?”
“Nay cut in two the seeker was.”
Obed shook his head. “Of course he was.”
“Oh my,” said Alexa. She got down off her horse to talk to the little one and he appeared to appreciate that. “Who cut the sword seeker in two?”
“A giant he was. Even bigger than ye.”
Merrill thought that everyone would appear to be a giant compared to those little fellas. Obed continued to scan the village and was at least happy that they didn’t appear to be belligerent; he saw one that was even smaller than the rest peeking from behind the well and he guessed it to be a child. It rolled towards them and was cuter than the adults, looked like a puff ball of hair with yellow eyes peeking out. Obed thought he might like to have one for a pet though he knew they wouldn’t think so.
“Come, come, come. Here, here, here!” Melfelfa shouted. “Come, come.”
Merrill and Obed dismounted from their horses, secured them and then followed Melfelfa through the village, and for whatever reason Melfelfa was the only one that spoke, perhaps he was the head of the clan. Maybe it was considered rude for the others to speak. They could guess at anything.
Melfelfa pointed down into the well. “Down there it is.”
Obed looked down into the well and it was beautiful down there from what he could see, a running waterfall that flowed into a pool of the bluest water. A flowery scent emerged from the well, very pleasant. “How is there light down there? So bright it’s as if the sun is shining.”
Knight of the Sword (of Knights and Wizards Book 3) Page 9
