She didn’t like it but she knew he was right; she didn’t have any magic to defend herself. “I guess.”
The wizard climbed up on Ash’s back and they flew off with Daganth following. There was absolutely no way that Daganth was remaining behind and it was impossible for Marcus to control the dragon.
The golden knights hated when Marcus flew off because they were unable to protect him and that made them worry, a little like a mother watching her child go off into the world without her protection. But they had orders to protect the castle while the sorcerer was gone.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
THE NIIWU HAD MOVED BACK SEVERAL LEAGUES deeper into the forest, those that had not been transformed into chickens. Most of them slept at this hour except for the guards. A lot of niiwu were showing up, being inexplicably drawn to gather together as never before, some travelling for more than a week to get there. And the odour of so many gathered together made it easy for other niiwu to pick up the scent.
Up above the forest canopy the stars shone brightly, but slowly diminished by a plume of ash, the result of a huge belch from Ecruos. Flakes of grey ash commenced falling on the niiwu’s encampment, like snowflakes, some landing gently on those that were sleeping outside until more dwellings were built. The flakes were not only accumulating on them but being absorbed into their skin, transforming them, spikes began to grow out of their heads, some growing a hand’s width taller as well. Their brains grew slightly larger, killing a few as it pushed against their skulls.
Two of the guards watched as their battle axes commenced to glow a slight green and in the darkness of the forest they were plainly visible, enhancing their weapons although it might take them some time to figure out how and to what degree, both axes were now engraved with small human skulls, as humans were considered their second greatest enemies with dragons being the first. They were now aware that a human with supernatural abilities might actually be more dangerous than a dragon.
As night gave way to the new morn all were surprised to see their transformations, touching the spikes on their heads, some laughing at others until they realized that they also had the sharp points that had grown out of their skulls. Some chins had broadened which somehow made them look even fiercer. One tried hard to break off one of his spikes but only succeeded in giving himself a terrible headache.
They had evolved faster than nature would have allowed and the properties of magic that now flowed through their blood stream made them feel peculiar, some stood with odd looks on their faces as they attempted to determine just how they did feel. Discussions didn’t shed any light on the situation.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
RAINA WAS IN KING DARIUS’S FOREST to the southwest of Leeander; she had wandered off by herself simply to explore around the kingdom but then had decided to go hunting. After being patient and very still for almost an hour she had managed to put a bolt through a pheasant and was thinking of asking the king if she could cook it herself, a skill that she had learned by hanging around the kitchen back home, one of the many things that she missed of her shattered home. She tried hard not to think of that terrible time but sometimes one’s thoughts tended to wander, and guiding them away from that horror wasn’t always easy. Perhaps that was why she was so determined to be with a wizard, but now she was discovering that there was danger in that too.
Cyrus was inexplicably pulled southwest of Leeander, and as he rode and explored he spotted Raina by herself heading back towards the kingdom and Marcus was nowhere in sight. Not only that but no knights accompanied her either, the perfect opportunity.
Raina spotted Cyrus trotting towards her and wasn’t sure whether to be wary of him or not; she didn’t want to place a bolt in her bow to show him aggression but still he worried her, even though he was showing her a big smile. He looked different somehow but what exactly made him look changed was beyond her grasp.
“Raina, what brings you out here?” said Cyrus. “It can be dangerous to travel alone. I see you’ve got yourself a pheasant.”
Raina studied his demeanor. “Yes and it wasn’t easy to get close enough to get one.”
“Where’s Marcus?”
She sighed. “Marcus is off on an errand to save the world.”
He looked around to make sure that there was no one else in the area. “You must know by now that Marcus is going to get himself killed.” He was waiting for just the opportunity to strike and catch her off guard.
Raina didn’t like the way he was guiding the conversation. “I won’t end up with you if that’s what you’re trying to say.”
“I’ve never seen a dragon flying so low to the ground.” He looked beyond Raina to draw her attention and it worked, and as she turned he pushed her hard and she fell off the horse. He was on her quickly, not giving her a chance to draw her sword or bow, and using his weight advantage he held her down as he tied her up.
“Get off me!” Raina screamed.
“You’ll come to love me in time, you’ll see.” He threw her on the back of his horse, lifted up her head and stared at her. “If you scream Raina I may have to kill you. Now understand that I don’t want to but to save my own life I will.”
Raina thought that he sounded as if he was not of right mind. “You horse’s ass. Marcus will kill you for this!”
“He won’t be able to find you where I’m taking you. I am a wizard as well. Maybe even stronger than him.”
Raina wondered what had happened to him in the time he had been gone, in any case he was speaking nonsense. It looked as if he was even more dangerous than she had guessed. “Cyrus you are no wizard. Now untie me, by doing so you might change your future and your downfall. Come to your senses before it’s too late.”
Cyrus got on his horse and started to ride, thinking that as soon as he got her back he would strip her naked and have a good look; she was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen. He would definitely need to take a different way back to the circular building that he had discovered in order to avoid anyone seeing him. He was sure that no one would find them there, unless he wanted to be found. And now he knew how to get in and out without going through those skeletons and that monster of a bear.
Finally back inside what he considered the lair of some long dead wizard he placed Raina on the floor near the painting smiling triumphantly at her. “So here we are.”
“You can’t keep me tied here forever and when you release me you are going to be one sorry jackass!” She uttered a string of obscenities and curses that were certainly unladylike but she thought the situation called for it.
Cyrus removed her sword and her bow and tossed them in the corner, and then standing akimbo he stared down at her. As she struggled to free herself he could see the fire in her eyes, and he knew she was going to attack him as soon as he released her but he was a man and also knew that she was no match for his physical strength. He wondered if he should wait until she tired, expelling most of her energy? He was sure that in time she would get used to her new situation and calm down, no one could remain that angry forever. Even in her fury she was a thing of beauty.
Raina had tried to remain attentive as they had rode, but the path that he had taken through the forest to avoid being seen had made it impossible, and as they rode through the desert she had no idea where they were. There were sections of desert, forest and even winter all over because of the magical landscape.
Cyrus sat and watched as she struggled to free herself, becoming even more furious and he laughed at her. “So here we are.” He said again.
Getting her right foot free she kicked him in the testicles and he went down.
“So there they used to be!”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
ASH ARRIVED AT THE VOLCANO WITH MARCUS on his back and Daganth flying close behind. The volcano now had molten lava running down its sides and a large plume of ash emerging from the top. Marcus thought that the ash might be heading in Leeander’s general direction but couldn’t be sure; it was a long ways away. The dragons
pumped their wings as they held themselves in place, taking in the sights of the island around the volcano. There were strange beasts running around, some were made of fire, others had tusks and huge mouths that appeared to be too big for their faces, fighting one another to the death. One looked like a two-headed dragon with no wings.
“If that is truly the source of magic I think the world is in big trouble.” Marcus had never seen anything like it. It was a nightmare that had become reality.
Ash shook his head. “The problem is how on earth do we stop it?” As he blinked his eyes repeatedly he was seeing a lot of different spells that he had never seen before, written in both purple and yellow script. They were confinement spells but they had scratches running through them to indicate that they would not work against such a supernatural spewing beast. What was the point of his magic showing him what he couldn’t do?
Marcus’s wand vibrated. I don’t seem to have a spell that will stop or reverse such powerful emanations.
Ash remembered his dreams and all the destruction and carnage that had come out of too much magic; of course it might take a long time for it to destroy everything but then again maybe not.
“That hurts!” Daganth exclaimed.
Marcus turned to see that Daganth was being attacked by butterflies, red hot butterflies that were made of metal with extremely sharp wings that were actually cutting into his scales. He burned two and watched as they turned to dust and were taken away by the wind. He tried to burn another and almost got Marcus in the process. “Hey!”
“Sorry father!”
Ash was puzzled. “Why does he call you father?”
Marcus shook his head. “It’s a long story that I have neither the time nor the energy to tell.”
A spell appeared to Ash with no scratches through it but neither was it the usual glowing green to indicate that it would work but instead a light grey. Marcus’s wand aimed his hand toward the spewing volcano, and as Ash launched a spell that was contained in his fiery breath, the wand also threw a bolt of bleu lightning that combined with Ash’s fire, and when the spell made it down to the volcano is was instantly covered by a huge clear dome, which commenced to fill up with ash and was soon so ash filled that the volcano was no longer visible.
Ash was amazed by what just happened. “ Did you see that? I think our spells combined.”
“Yes but will it hold?” said Marcus.
“I don’t have the experience to know.” Ash was already wondering if the volcano might simply release its energy somewhere else.
Daganth flew down and landed on top on the dome. “It feels cold.”
Marcus shook his head. “Get off of there I’m responsible for you!”
“Yes father.”
Ash thought that he had seen so many strange things in his short life but this might be the strangest. “I have no words.”
Marcus shrugged. “Time to head back.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
THE AFTERNOON HAD BECOME OVERCAST and looked like it was going to rain soon, a thunderstorm was brewing. Kapano, Aewyn and Asher were heading onto a forest path as they travelled toward the Faltic Hills. They were travelling to a previous home that Kapano had inhabited, a bit of an elaborate cave that he had worked on for several years before he finally had decided to move on and explore, having used up all the magical ingredients in the area.
It started to rain, not hard but enough to annoy all of them, and Asher hoped that all their ingredients were sealed tight enough so as to not let rain get into their containers because even a few drops of rain would ruin what had taken years to gather. Some of the ingredients had been incredibly difficult to acquire, like dragon tears for one, or nose hairs from a grizzly bear.
Kapano was surprised to see an elaborate mud hut just off the trail to the left, mud was laid over a thatch of lashed reeds, sprinkled with colorful rocks throughout. The dwelling glowed and the rocks appeared to take turns sparking, even though no sunlight reached them in the rain. The glow was a warning that the dwelling was magical and to stay away but as the rain increased in intensity Kapano had other ideas.
“Let’s see if we can gain entry to wait out the rain,” said Kapano. “I don’t imagine that it would hurt to ask?”
“Do you not see that it was created by magic?” said Aewyn. “A wizard resides there and you wish to disturb him?”
Kapano rolled his eyes. “What I wish is that we get out of this damn rain. It’ll be pouring soon. We can each surrender a gold coin. It couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Couldn’t hurt to ask?” Asher exclaimed. “A simple knock on that red door could trigger a spell that would transform you into a toadstool.”
Kapano was old and cranky, occasionally had moods that made him unpleasant to be around and sometimes he would go off by himself and sulk for days. He got off the wagon and stared at the red door as it commenced to rain harder, becoming more and more aggravated, staring up at the sky as if in protest.
Inside the hut Jiao-Long stood by the side of the door watching, from inside he could see through the door as if it didn’t exist, curious at the three visitors outside as he hadn’t seen a passerby in months. He was a short wizard wrapped in strips of black material. The place was much larger than it looked from the outside, seven rooms and was big enough for ten people to reside within although he lived a solitary life.
In the deluge Kapano approached the door, he hesitated for a few moments and then knocked, being instantly transformed into a small red frog that jumped and smashed into the door. Asher gestured with his hand to say there you go.
The door was opened and Jiao-Long shouted so that he would be heard over the heavy rain. “What is it that you seek here!”
“We were going to offer you three gold coins to gain refuge from this weather!” Aewyn shouted back.
Jiao-Long stood motionless as he considered the offer, staring down at the red frog. “Very well you may enter.” And with a wave of his hand Kapano returned to his normal self, although he did jump froglike into the hut.
As soon as they entered the master tapped several times on the ornate round wooden table that was adorned with various colorful dragon scenes; Kapano thought that if they were painted they were accomplished by an experienced hand. They each placed a coin on the table and watched as each coin was examined to make sure they were genuinely made of gold, they would all be frogs should he determine that they were not real gold. Satisfied Jiao-Long took the time to nod at each visitor.
The sorcerer pointed. “Inside that room there is a large bed where you can rest for the night, and in that one I have food storage and you are welcome to eat your fill. I expect you to leave when the sun rises, rain or no rain.”
“We thank you for your kindness.” Kapano went in and got comfortable on the huge mattress that was filled with straw, discovering that it was one mattress on top of another.
They were warned not to wander lest they all wanted to spend the rest of their existence as frogs. A crash of thunder was extremely loud as the storm was passing directly over them; a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, setting it alight but was soon extinguished by the downpour. Asher wasn’t exactly frightened of the weather and yet it made him uneasy as he had a horse long ago that had been killed by a bolt.
Outside in the inclement weather the Staff of Herding was crackling beneath the covers; it lit up as bright as a hundred candles as it sensed the powerful energy in the air. It shone through the covers, creating a reflective halo against the rain. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and then another, striking a direct hit on the staff and it lit up a bright red.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
STONE AND ALEXA DANCED around the bonfire in the courtyard along with many others as the noon celebration had run into the evening; the entire kingdom celebrated Stone’s birthday; the princess her knight both had a little too much wine to drink. They played lutes and some played gemshorns made from goats horns, one played a drum and another shook bells. Earlier o
n the conglomeration had sounded better but now that everyone had had too much to drink it was mediocre at best.
Stone hated the fuss just because he was a year older but the more he drank the more he accepted it, and of course he was forced to wear Knightshade. And for some peculiar reason the knight of the sword now appeared to have lost interest in it, mostly just wandering around in the courtyard. In the morn Stone would place the sword on the wall in the Great Hall where it belonged. He liked the way Alexa was making eyes at him and thought that they should soon retire to their chamber for some private time.
King Darius had ordered fresh venison passed around the entire kingdom in celebration, with instructions to give more to those who needed it most, especially large families that had a difficult time putting food on the table, some too proud to admit it and so they were told to say that the king would be insulted if they didn’t accept.
King Darius watched as Stone took Alexa’s hand and led her off to their chamber, he hoped that the union would produce another grandchild, the more the merrier he thought. The king staggered and almost fell over but was caught by one of Marcus’s golden knights and he laughed at his own clumsiness.
Stone closed the door to the chamber and Alexa threw herself at him; they kissed passionately; he ran his hands up and down her body, stopping to caress her breasts, simultaneously kissing her neck. Just as she started to disrobe the door was kicked in, Abbey in donkey form was the culprit; she ran in and changed back into her cute girl self.
“I want some milk!” Abbey shouted.
“Abbey you broke the door!” Alexa watched as she looked down at the floor, now showing a sad face.
“Donkey did it.” And she jumped showing how she had kicked it.
“And who is the donkey?” her father asked.
Knight of the Sword (of Knights and Wizards Book 3) Page 20
