“Seriously? Just how smart are you cobras?”
The second cobra appeared in the corridor outside the room, and its head came through the door. Ringerike spun her around and cleaved through its neck, leaving a twitching head blocking the door, then pointed toward the second cobra. The snake at the window started to squeeze into the room, and collapsed part of the wall as it wiggled toward her.
“Die!” Taliesin screamed.
Ringerike punctured the snake’s head, and with a final hiss, it shuddered and lay still. She wiped her blade clean on the bed cover, exasperated, for the window and doorway were blocked, but a smaller window overlooked an alley. She climbed through it and jumped to the ground. The house burst into flames as she staggered down the alley and into the main courtyard. The tunic she wore offered little reprieve from the heat of the fire.
She ran toward the well, thinking of the items Sertorius had stolen, and she had failed to retrieve. He had taken the Deceiver’s Map, which showed the location of anyone she wanted to find. He had the ring of Prince Tarquin Draconus, which gave its wearer dragon-scale armor, and his magical sword, Calaburn.
“Sertorius, you’re going to pay for this,” she muttered.
Taliesin had hoped Zarnoc would return for her. He had not done so, but more buzzards, attracted by the dead, arrived in droves. It wasn’t normal to see so many, especially in a town on fire. She returned to the well, wanting a drink, and looked into it; a body floated on the surface and several snakes slithered up the sides of the well. Disgusted, she sat on the edge of the well to catch her breath. A skinny dog yelped and ran past her, terrified. It refused to come when called and vanished around a corner.
“I need water,” Taliesin said. “Now! Water, come to me!”
Lifting a hand, she summoned the nearest flask of clean water, which arrived in an instant. She caught it and poured the contents into her mouth. Seconds later, the same scrawny dog ran past her again, tail between its legs, whimpering. Taliesin spat out the water, too dank for her liking, and stood, sword in hand. Something felt wrong—a disturbance in the air—and she sensed magic at play.
A black adder slithered out from under the bodies. She tossed the flask at the snake and headed toward the arch. As she walked through the town, the hissing grew louder, too loud for one adder. She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes widened at the sight of thousands of snakes following her, as thick as a carpet.
“These aren’t Lord Arundel’s pets,” she muttered. “These have been summoned by another magic user. Zarnoc, damn you. Why did you run off and leave me here?”
Taliesin ran toward the archway, wondering if the god Heggen had sent the snakes to kill her, though it seemed more likely a vengeful Lord Arundel of the Eagle Clan had intervened. More snakes appeared, cutting off her escape. Someone was definitely using dark magic to send snakes into Dahkla. But who had survived her attack on Eagle’s Cliff? Was it Karnok the Magnificent? She had killed the Ruby Sisters, Isueda, Jesmonde, and Vivian. Tembol, a sorcerer both handsome and deadly, had taunted her like a teenager before she took his life. Vatan the Black, a dangerous sorcerer who was able to cast spells that turned the air into poisonous gas was another possibility, but she was certain he had died, as had Hescariot the Bold, who liked to torture prisoners with sharp instruments. It also might be an entirely different magic user she had not yet met, a sly fellow or cunning witch, who wanted to impress either Lord Arundel or the Maeceni.
“Whoever you are, I won’t be bested!”
She lifted Ringerike over her head and a blue orb surrounded her, keeping the snakes at bay. Horrified, she watched scaled bodies slither out of every door and window not in flames, and crawl out from beneath a stack of clay bricks. More wiggled out of a line of large clay jars left against a wall. They surrounded her, unable to bite through the blue orb. A cobalt Night Crawler, a yellow-and-red striped Desert Rattler, and a tiny green Mosca Snake, known for dancing to flute music, caught her gaze.
Taliesin pointed her left index finger at a black mamba, pressed against the blue barrier, as its red tongue darted out of its fanged mouth. “You! Go back to where you came from,” she shouted. “Return to the moist ground, dark caves, and deep holes you came from, I say. Leave this place or die!”
Whoever used magic against her had cast a strong spell, and the snakes reacted in a frenzy to quickly build a wall around Taliesin. Trapped inside the orb, her sword showed no sign of weakness, yet there was no way for her to break free of the creatures squirming outside the orb. The sheer volume of the snakes, along with their combined weight, made it impossible for Taliesin to press forward in any direction. She hoped Zarnoc meant to return, and was too afraid to use more magic of her own, for fear of the consequences if her spell went amok; as long as she stayed awake and held her sword aloft, Ringerike would keep her safe. She had no doubt of this, yet she remained worried the spellcaster might make an appearance, to make things worse.
“Well, I can’t stand here forever. Zarnoc!” Taliesin shouted. “This is your fault! If you’d bothered to help, I wouldn’t be in this situation. When I get out of this mess, I’m going to have words with you.”
Ringerike let out a pitiful whine. All she could see were snakes, and they refused to depart when she willed them to go. It was hopeless; her magic was blocked. She didn’t know what else to do, so she sat on the ground, using her left hand to hold her right arm in the air to keep the sword aloft. Ringerike shook and lifted her arm on its own, hovering, allowing her to ease her aching muscles.
“I’m going to kill whoever sent you,” Taliesin snarled.
The Night Crawler stared at her with dark eyes, and its tongue flicked out as she silently pleaded for Zarnoc to return and save her. The wizard had to know she needed help, but she didn’t expect him to appear any more than she had while she lay festering in the back of the gut wagon. He wanted her to figure out her problems. As she willed the snakes to leave, they started to hiss, until the interior of the orb echoed with the horrid noise.
* * * * *
Chapter Three
“Ringerike, I’ve tried everything,” Taliesin grumbled. “I want it to rain and it won’t rain; why won’t it rain? If magic comes naturally to me, there must be nothing natural about this situation. What?” She paused to listen to the sword and received a picture of rain clouds. “Rain actually brings out snakes? Okay. What about electricity? They are afraid of being shocked, right? Let me see what I can do about that, and yes, I will focus.”
The sword vibrated in her hand as Taliesin closed her eyes and imagined dark clouds producing a thunderstorm. Lightning strike, she thought, and the snakes will leave in a hurry. In addition, the rain would put out the fires.
At the first crackle of thunder, a bolt of lightning struck the mound of snakes. She let out a triumphant shout, and a sudden downpour followed. Standing, Taliesin watched dead snakes fall aside and the lives ones quickly slide off the blue orb, and laughed each time lightning crackled overhead. After the last snake vanished, the rain stopped and the blue light faded. She studied the town; the rain had doused the fires, reducing them to embers at the base of each structure, and a stream trickled down the center of the street. She walked through the gate and faced south, under a waning sun. The sky was clear, without a cloud in sight.
The ground outside the town was dry. In the distance, she spotted a cloud of dust; riders headed toward her under an Erindor banner. Now they come, she thought, disgusted, angry, and tired. Taliesin shooed buzzards from the bodies, braced her legs apart, placed the sword against her right shoulder, and waited for the riders.
“Duke Fakar’s men will blame me for what happened here, Ringerike. I’m getting tired of Zarnoc’s life lessons,” she muttered. “Any idea how to handle the situation? I don’t think they look like the negotiating type.” The sword hummed in response.
In a whorl of dust, the Erindor soldiers whirled around Taliesin in two circles, moving in opposite directions. She coughed in the cloud,
shielded her eyes with one hand, and looked at the soldiers. They wore red cloaks and gold-spiked helmets seated on turbans, and cursed at her in their native tongue. A lone rider on a white horse cut out of the line as the rest continued to circle her, shouting threats and waving their weapons in the air.
A furious expression hung on his stern face as his horse pranced before her, red and purple tassels flicking up and down on its halter. He lifted his hand to signal his patrol to halt. As the riders reined in their horses, a cloud of dust swept over the group and faded on the breeze.
“Who are you?” the man asked as he drew his scimitar.
“I’m Taliesin, the Raven Mistress.”
“Garridan soldiers are attacking towns near the King’s Road. Yet, we arrive to find only one woman,” he said, in a stern voice. He placed a hand over his heart as his upper lip curled to meet the ends of his moustache. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Anwar ben Ramla of the Red Cobras. In the name of Duke Fakar, I am placing you under arrest for the murder of these people.”
Taliesin continued to hold her sword down at her side; she wanted no trouble with these men. “I didn’t do it, Captain Ramla,” she said. “The Knights of the Chaos, under the command of Prince Sertorius, killed these people. I was their prisoner but managed to escape, and the smoke attracted me here, the same as it did you. Sertorius will burn every town in his path before he reaches the Maldavian border. I want no quarrel with Duke Fakar or the Red Cobras. I have told you all I know, so let me be on my way.”
“Perhaps it is possible you have not heard of me? If you had, you would not be so dismissive. I command all the Red Cobras. We were told by the Eagle Clan to be on the lookout for the Raven Mistress. Hand over your sword and come with us.”
“I’m sure the Eagle Clan failed to tell you they employ evil magic users,” she said. “One of them, Karnok the Magnificent, sent four giant cobras here to kill me. I arrived too late to help these people, but I did kill the cobras. Go look if you don’t believe me.”
Ramla’s eyes narrowed. He lifted his hand and five riders entered the town while two dismounted to examine the dead within the circle of riders. The rest of the men pointed their spears at her. Ringerike quivered at her side, and a trace of blue light slid along the length of the sword.
“I also heard the Raven Mistress destroyed Eagle’s Cliff,” Ramla said. “But, I have not heard about any magic users working for Lord Arundel. A dispatched rider from Duke Fakar reached us this morning. You are accused of killing members of Lord Arundel’s clan with magic, Mistress Taliesin of the Raven Clan. That is quite an interesting sword you possess; even the strongest man would have difficulty using such a large blade. What they say must be true...you found the legendary Raven Sword in the Salayen Desert. Is that Ringerike?”
“Yes,” she said.
“If you were Prince Sertorius’ prisoner, how did you escape?”
“With magic, Captain Ramla, but I am not the only magic user in this realm. Lord Arundel had a magic guild, led by Karnok the Magnificent. The guild has existed for many centuries, despite the Draconus kings banning all magic. It is said Lord Arundel and his son, Xander, are also sorcerers.
The riders pressed forward. The captain leaned toward her, his saddle squeaking, and pointed his scimitar at her.
“Duke Fakar and Lord Arundel are blood brothers, sworn to defend each other to the death. In Erindor, the eagle flies higher than the raven.”
“That’s one I haven’t heard,” Taliesin said with a roll of her eyes. “Maybe you didn’t hear me when I said Karnok sent four giant cobras to kill me. He may still be in the area. Take me prisoner, and you’ll only invite trouble.” she paused as the ground beneath her feet shifted and the horses started to panic. “Get your men out of here, Captain Ramla! Something is coming!”
“The earth moves,” the captain shouted. “What dark magic is this?”
“Not mine! Get out of here!”
The ground rumbled beneath Taliesin’s feet, knocking her off-balance, and she stumbled forward as the captain’s horse reared. An entire section of the town collapsed, and a thunderous screech brought a single guard running through the archway, screaming in terror. He passed the riders and continued down the road like a raving lunatic. Another screech pierced the air, and the horses bolted in fear, toppling riders from their saddles, as a behemoth-sized black cobra appeared from the rubble of the town. The monster rose upward until its hooded head blocked the sun, and it opened its jaws to reveal fangs as long as spears, dripping venom.
Ringerike wanted her to flee and pulled on her arm, trying to drag her toward the hills. If her sword wanted to leave, Taliesin knew the sorcerer who summoned the snakes was close by, so she resisted. She knew she had to stay and help the Red Cobras. The snake’s tail whipped about and knocked down buildings, sending up a cloud of dust, while the soldiers tried to control their horses.
“Stand your ground,” Captain Ramla shouted.
The Red Cobras formed a line, their swords raised and spears lowered. As they prepared to charge the beast, Taliesin watched in horror as the snake lashed out, plucked a hapless rider from his saddle, and swallowed the man whole. It reared back its head, hissing loudly, and thumped its tail, knocking down the last of the town’s wall. The Red Cobras were not prepared to fight such a creature, and a number turned their horses and attempted to flee. The cobra moved forward at an alarming speed, snapping riders off their mounts in an eating frenzy, and breaking the backs of horses as it flicked its giant tail.
Captain Ramla, on his white horse, remained alone to face the creature. Taliesin ran to him, and using both hands, pointed her sword at the snake. A beam of blue light struck the snake, and as it recoiled, Ramla drew a spear from a holder on his saddle and threw it. The spear struck the giant beast in the chest, and it let out a piteous screech as it thrashed its tail in rage.
“Ringerike! Shield me! That’s an order!”
The blue orb appeared around Taliesin as she charged the cobra. Its giant head flashed past her as it lunged at Captain Ramla, knocking him out of his saddle as its fangs seized the entire body of his horse. With a flip of its head, it swallowed the horse, but the animal lodged mid-way, leaving a visible outline of its head and legs beneath the black-scaled skin. As the captain slowly rose to his feet, scimitar in hand, Taliesin raised her sword over her head.
“It’s all or nothing, Ringerike,” Taliesin cried.
A piercing hum came from Ringerike as she swung the sword with both arms, using every ounce of strength to hack through the cobra’s body. The blade sank into the scales, moving hard and fast, and carved through the snake like a tough piece of meat. She staggered forward under a spray of warm, green blood as the snake’s head plummeted to the ground and hit with a loud smack, while its massive body twisted and slammed backward into a building. Taliesin shook her head, blinked rapidly to clear blood from her eyes, and ran toward the cobra’s head.
Despite its head being severed from its body, the snake’s mouth continued to move. Taliesin stood to the side and thrust her sword into an enormous black eye, pushing deep into the snake’s brain, every muscle straining with the effort. When the sword was embedded to the hilt, she pulled it through the snake’s head, cleaving it in one sweep. Black brains and green blood oozed around Taliesin as she yanked the sword free and stood back to admire her work as the blue light faded. Captain Ramla ran to her, scimitar still raised for action, and together they watched the body squirm, until it became motionless.
“She’s a witch,” one of the men said as several riders returned.
“Duke Fakar does not tolerate magic users,” another shouted. “We should kill her now, Captain Ramla, before she tries to kill us.”
Taliesin stood drenched in green blood and wiped it off her sword. “So much for gratitude,” she said, turning to Ramla. “I already told you who sent these snakes to Dahkla; that snake belonged to Lord Arundel. I don’t deny the accusation that I destroyed Eagle’s C
liff and his magic guild. When I did, I must have released all manner of creatures. Arundel had a menagerie filled with the kinds of monsters you and your men have only read about, Captain Ramla. I did you a service this day, for now five of those monsters are dead.”
“What you did was amazing,” the captain said. “Not only did you hack the beast through with one mighty blow, you fought for us, not against us. I believe what you said about the Knights of Chaos. You have won my trust, Raven Mistress.”
“Does that mean you’re not going to arrest me, Captain?” Taliesin slid her sword into the scabbard on her back, took a final look at the giant cobra, and held her hands out in front of her. “I’m too exhausted to resist if you do, but I warn you, Ringerike won’t like it—my sword has a mind of its own.”
“I have no intention of arresting you. You have our thanks, Mistress Taliesin. You have proven yourself a friend of the people of Erindor and the Red Cobras.”
Captain Ramla offered his hand, which she took and shook hard. A soldier led two riderless horses forward. She stroked the neck of one of them and wondered if Zarnoc watched from afar. He certainly had a way of not showing up when he was needed. But now that she’d vanquished the snakes, he remained missing. The captain handed Taliesin a flask of water. She took a long drink, returned the flask to the captain, and accepted the reins.
“It was my intention to go to Penkill Castle in Maldavia to rejoin my clan,” Taliesin said. “The Garridan army is marching on the royal city of Padama. Sertorius has joined Almaric, though he may yet change sides. If you want to protect your people, follow the King’s Road, and you’ll find others in need of help. I intend to ride through the countryside to avoid encountering the prince.”
“It is a long way to Maldavia,” the captain said. “Allow us to escort you to the border, Mistress Taliesin. It is an honor to ride with one so glorious in battle. We will make certain Prince Sertorius does not capture you again, though I think your sword can handle anything sent to stop you.”
Queen of Magic Page 4
