by Toni Cox
Boom!
The ram carried on regardless, but he had now found its weakness.
“The feet,” he yelled. “Concentrate on the feet.”
His cry was taken up and soon more Vampyres dropped out of the cover of the ram. As they emerged, they were shot down. But others took their places and the battering ram carried on mercilessly.
Boom!
Vampyres were now climbing over their fallen comrades to get within shooting range of the city. Undeterred Stoneloft’s archers gave it everything they had. Undeterred, the Vampyres kept advancing. At first Blaid thought the Vampyres had no plan; simply walking up to the city to be shot; but after a while, he realised that all the tall Generals of the army had remained at the back and were watching the proceedings. The ones at the front were there to draw the Elves’ fire and spend their ammunition. They did have a limited number of arrows, as most of the weapons had gone with their army to Greystone, but they had to diminish the Vampyre army before they managed to break through the gate.
Boom!
Relentlessly the Vampyres replenished their fallen at the battering ram and carried on assaulting the gate. Arrows whistled past Blaid’s ears as he peered over the wall to shoot his own. The ground in front of the city was now littered with Vampyres, but Blaid could feel their own dead and dying Elves all around him. The Prime within him screamed at him to help those that were slow to die, but there was no time for that now. Another well placed arrow, another Vampyre dead.
Boom!
This time the wall shook and Blaid heard the creak of wood and iron as the gate buckled. It would not be able to withstand another hit.
He nodded to Ender and then ran down the stairs to join the swordsmen in the large courtyard of the west gate. They were ready, swords and spears pointed towards the mangled gate, awaiting the rush of Vampyres that would pour in any moment.
They were not disappointed; one last assault of the ram finally brought the gate down and once the ram retreated, Vampyres stormed through the gate, hissing, and screaming. With a shout, Blaid led the charge. He killed the first Vampyre by slashing his throat. The second he disembowelled and the third he stabbed through the eye. The smell of blood was now thick in Blaid’s nose and the death screams of the men around him whipped him into a fury. In quick succession, he killed another twenty or so Vampyres before he was finally confronted with a General.
Quickly he assessed the warrior in front of him; tall, strong and holding two, long-bladed swords. The General grinned at him, exposing his fangs and then, out of the turmoil behind him, stepped three more Generals to join him. Blaid lifted his sword in front of him and then drew a shorter blade from his belt. The Generals came at him, hissing, or laughing, he knew not which. They came at him from all sides; faster, stronger, and smarter than any others he had fought before. Their swords clashed with his with such force that his arms went numb from the shock and he was soon shaking from the effort to keep them at bay. All around him Elves were battling Vampyres, but he could not see which had the upper hand. The Generals were relentless in their attack and with his inferior weapons all he could do was defend himself. On and on they hacked and slashed at him and he was soon bleeding from too many wounds to count. He was getting angry, but it was the screams of pain and death of his fellow Elves around him that eventually unleashed the Prime within and, in a black rage, he overran the Generals as if they were toys and then swept through the courtyard, killing every Vampyre that stood in his way.
He knew not for how long the battle lasted or how many he had killed. When he felt a touch on his shoulder he whipped around and only at the last moment managed to stop his knife from slicing Ender’s throat. Aghast he took a step back and bumped into the broken gate of the city, blood, and death all around him.
“My Lord,” Ender said bravely, but his body was shaking in fear. “It is done.”
Horrified Blaid looked around at the dead Vampyres and Elves lying dead around him in the courtyard. Some warriors stood at the edges of his vision, too afraid to show themselves. He knew he could fight anything; he had mastered the skill; but when he was fighting overwhelming odds, the Prime within him took over and it would kill indiscriminately anything that stood in his way. He had no control over it. It was his weakness.
“How many?” he whispered, but hoping Ender would not answer.
“The Vampyres are all dead. They have been defeated. Our Scouts tracked the ones in the mountains and they have dealt with them too.”
“How many?” Blaid repeated, anger colouring his voice.
“My Lord, we did not take a tally.” Ender looked down at his hands, which were shaking.
“Do not lie to me, Ender.”
“Twenty-four, My Lord.”
Blaid was silent for a long time then. Maybe he was the monster they all feared him to be after all. Twenty-four Elves he had killed in his rage. He had come here to save them, not help the Vampyres slaughter them. He remembered the power he had had when he had fought with Maia. It had been all different then. When they were together, nothing could stop them. They had power and control and such energy as he had never felt before. This black rage of his might be just as deadly, but not just for the enemy. He hated himself for it. He needed to leave. Now.
“I am sorry. I did not intend to harm your people,” he finally said. “It is best I leave now.”
Ender nodded to him and then stepped aside. Blaid picked up his sword from the ground and sheathed it. He took one final look at the carnage around him and then stepped over the ruins of the gate to walk back into the mountains.
The two dragons came together with an earth-shattering roar. All around her was chaos; horses whinnied and bucked, men screamed, Wolf howled; and on top of the crest Kanarel stood laughing.
As the dragons took their fight higher into the air, the horses finally settled down somewhat and Jaik immediately gave the order to advance. Wolf was away and running towards Kanarel before their horses were even in motion. But by the time they had reached the crest, Kanarel was gone.
Past the ridge, the ground sloped down about forty strides and then became a lightly forested area. Assuming Kanarel was hiding within the trees, they chased down the hill and spread out among the forest. Wolf had his nose to the ground, but he did not seem to be able to pick up Kanarel’s scent. Maia heard Jaik give orders to his men to spread out. Frustrated she opened herself and tried to find Kanarel’s Eläm, but besides the warriors she was with, there was no-one else in the vicinity.
“He is not here,” she shouted to Riker and Rothea, who were, as always, right behind her.
Quickly she turned Fire’s head and headed back out of the trees. Back in the open she scanned the area. It was possible that he was powerful enough to hide his Eläm from her, or even make himself invisible, but even if that was the case, they should be able to at least pick up his foot prints. Now, with her suspicions confirmed, she believed him to be more powerful than anyone could have suspected. An Ice Dragon, she thought and looked towards the sky where the two beasts battled.
Ice Dragons were the only dragons as large as Soul Dragons. She had never seen one before, as they lived in the polar regions of their planet, but she had studied them during her years of training with Silas. They were bad tempered and vicious, with armoured skin, talons as long as her legs and about a hundred more teeth than Midnight. She shuddered now as she felt one of those sharp talons rip a deep cut into Midnight’s softer belly flesh.
She had to find Kanarel. If he controlled the dragon, then he would be able to call him off. Going on instinct, she turned east and tracked along the ridge. After about half a mile she noticed a slight disturbance in the air. It was almost too faint to pick up, but after her own excursion into invisibility, she immediately knew what it was.
“He is close.” She quietly said to Riker and Rothea. “Spread out.”
Rothea took her left and Riker went to the right. Using all her senses she concentrated on the vast area before them. Ev
erything was still, yet she was sure he was there. Slowly she let Fire walk forward, carefully scanning the ground for foot prints and testing the quality of the air around her. It was almost imperceptible and she almost missed it, but then Kanarel moved and she was sure of his position. Quickly she signalled to her companions and they closed in on her position.
“Show yourself,” she demanded. “I know you are there.”
The air shimmered before them for a moment and then there he stood; an air of arrogance around him. Wolf growled at him, but stood firm next to Maia.
“And what will you do, Princess?” he sneered.
“Lay down your weapons and no harm will come to you,” she replied.
“And then? Should I come quietly? I think not, Princess.”
“Riker,” Maia said, “bind him.”
Riker jumped off his horse and, with his sword drawn, approached Kanarel.
“Lay down your weapons,” Riker repeated Maia’s order.
Kanarel smiled and a feeling of premonition so strong overcame Maia that she almost retched.
“Riker, watch out,” she managed to yell, but it was too late.
The Ice Dragon came swooping down from high above and faster than Maia had thought possible for such a large animal had snatched Riker off the ground and was flying off with him, Midnight in pursuit.
“Kanarel,” she yelled. “If anything happens to him I swear I will kill you myself.”
Kanarel laughed and then the air shimmered around him and he was gone. Wolf ran to the spot where Kanarel had stood only a moment before, but then turned in circles as he lost Kanarel’s scent.
Torn between Riker at the mercy of the dragon and the prospect of catching Kanarel, she hesitated just a moment too long. One moment she sensed him there only a few strides from her, the next moment he had vanished completely.
Midnight’s screams then focussed her thoughts. She looked up at the dragons in the sky. She noticed that Midnight was reluctant to attack as Shard still had Riker in his claws. But Shard did not seem to be aware of his extra burden and attacked Midnight relentlessly.
Maia and Rothea followed the flight of the dragons up and down the ridge and Maia tried to reach out to Riker to find out if he was still alive, but the distance was simply too great. They were eventually joined by Jaik and his men, but there was nothing they could do but watch in horror as the Ice Dragon chipped away at Midnight’s defences and Midnight was unable to retaliate.
The dragons swooped and at one point they came so close that Maia managed to pick up Riker’s faint Eläm. He was alive, for now, but barely so. Feeling utterly helpless, she tried one last thing; she tried to connect to the Ice Dragon’s mind. Letting go of everything else around her she focused solely on the dragon. He was a big animal and his Eläm glowed brighter than anything else around him. Even Midnight, having suffered so many injuries already, was dim compared to Shard. In her desperation, she reached out and tried to get into the dragon’s mind. Immediately she was hit by a force of anger so strong it made her catch her breath. She tried again, pushing against the anger to see what lay beyond, but what she found there brought tears to her eyes; there was nothing she could do for Riker. The dragon’s mind was beyond saving. He had been taken out of his home, forced to submit to the lowly creature who had dared to invade his territory and then he had been made to do unspeakable things. His mind was twisted, angry, scared, and completely without reason. It was only his rage that now fuelled him and now that the creature that had ensnared him had let go of his hold on him, he would kill anything that got into his way.
“No,” Maia whispered as she brought her mind back to herself, tears flowing freely from her eyes.
Then the unthinkable happened; Shard opened his talons and Riker plummeted towards the ground. Maia screamed at Midnight to catch him, but without having to hold on to Riker, Shard now attacked even more viciously than before. There was nothing Midnight could do to save Riker.
In desperation Maia urged Fire into a gallop, trying to reach the spot where she thought Riker might land. Maybe she could catch him, or cushion his fall, or …
Riker’s body slammed into the ground and in an instant Maia knew that he was dead. She jumped off her horse and ran to him. Cradling his head, she stared at the large hole through his belly from the dragon’s talon. Even if he had not fallen, he would not have been able to survive such an injury.
As everyone gathered around them, Maia began to cry. Wolf howled. Never before had she known such pain. She rocked Riker’s lifeless body back and forth and she finally understood that, even though she loved Blaid, she had loved Riker too.
He watched the small form of Calm-Blue-Waters fall to the ground and he heard Bright-Shining-Silver-Star’s plea for him to catch him, but there was nothing he could do. Mad-One attacked, sinking his claws deep into his skin. Together they tumbled, whirling around each other, snapping at each other’s necks. Mad-One had no thought but to kill him and there was no point in trying to reason with him; he was unable to get into his mind. Finally, he managed to free himself from the grip Mad-One had on him and they both rose higher into the air. He let go a blast of fire that engulfed Mad-One and the white dragon screamed in rage. The moment the fire stopped, Mad-One attacked again. The white one went for his wings and he screamed as Mad-One’s mouth clamped shut on his flight membranes. Angry, he retaliated and slashed at the mad dragons softer under belly with his claws, ripping open the skin in four diagonal strips. Mad-One screamed, letting go of his wing in the process. He twisted and turned, scratching and biting, but whatever he did to the white dragon, it only seemed to make him angrier and more dangerous. Mad-One was large and strong, probably older than he was by at least two hundred years. It was clear to him that Mad-One had more experience in fighting with other dragons than he did and it was all he could do to hold the older dragon off.
Faintly he was aware of the heartbreak of the one that shared his soul and he struggled to block it out. Mad-One was biting his neck and he felt the sharp teeth sink deep into his skin. Again, he screamed in pain and again he retaliated. Blood sprayed in all directions as both of them inflicted serious injuries on each other. They were now both struggling to stay in the air, as both their wings were ripped. Flapping uselessly, they slowly descended to the ground, all the while biting and scratching at anything they could reach.
The force with which they landed on the ground shook his teeth, but he was on his feet instantly and swung his tail at Mad-One, slicing open his side with the caudal spade on the tip of his tail. Mad-One turned and used his own tail to inflict damage. It hit him on the spiky part of his spine and glanced off ineffectively.
Midnight’s limbs were tired and he was barely able to lift his wings, yet Mad-One kept attacking, seemingly unaware of his own injuries. He let go another long burst of fire and he could smell the exposed flesh of Mad-One’s wounds burn. Mad-One roared, jumped out of the stream of fire and sank his teeth yet again into Midnight’s wings. He could not twist out of his grip, so he attacked Mad-One’s neck, biting down hard and hoping to cut off his airflow. Mad-One did not let go of his wing; just bit down harder; and at the same time slashed at his chest with his front legs. Using the last of his strength, he bit down even harder on Mad-One’s neck. He worked his jaw and felt the flesh in Mad-One’s neck tear. The white dragon just screamed and carried on fighting. He felt his blood drain out of his many wounds, but he felt that the wound on his stomach and the damage to his left wing were probably the worst. Mad-One would break a bone in his wing soon and then he would never fly again. With one last effort, he bit down even harder on Mad-One’s neck and just when he thought his strength would fail him, he heard a faint click.
Almost instantly, the white dragon went limp. He felt the teeth release his wing. He opened his mouth and Mad-One dropped to the ground before him. He looked down at his opponent; a worthy adversary had it not been for his madness, and then sank down on the ground beside him. The smell of his own blood was str
ong in his nostrils and the pain from so many wounds was making him sleepy. He needed to rest. He needed to sleep. He had nothing left. He closed his eyes.
“Maia,” Jaik said gently. “Come. Let my men take him. They will take care of him. You are needed.”
Maia shook her head. She did not want to leave him. Riker had not left her side since he had been assigned to her and now he lay dead in her arms because of an order she had given him. She would not leave him.
“Maia, please, look at me,” Jaik said, lifting her chin with his finger to make her look at him. “Midnight needs you.”
It took her a moment longer to understand what he was saying. The dragons. They had been fighting. Suddenly alert, she gently laid Riker’s head on the ground and then jumped to her feet.
“Follow me,” Jaik said and started running.
After about a hundred strides the two large humps, one black and one white, came into view on the plain before them. Maia increased her pace and was soon kneeling by Midnight’s head. Rothea was already beside him, stroking his nostrils. Maia was taken aback by the strange sight for a moment, but then she heard what Rothea was whispering to Midnight over and over.
“She is coming, just hold on.”
Midnight! she thought, pushing the thought out with force.
She felt a flicker of acknowledgment in her mind, but it was so faint she almost missed it. Midnight was weak and for him to be in such a state, his injuries had be to be grave. Kneeling beside his head, she laid her hand on his muzzle for a moment before she stood up again.
“Let me have a look then,” she said, more to herself than anyone else.
Jaik and Rothea, who had been beside her, stepped away to give her room. Maia barely noticed the other men standing in a wide semicircle around her dragon.
Midnight was lying flat on his stomach, with one of his front legs twisted strangely beneath him and the other stretched out at a crooked angle before him. His hind legs were bent to the side and were lying together but, even without further inspection, she could see the deep scratch marks all along his flanks.
