The Dragon Empress: The Dragonspire Chronicles Book 6

by James E. Wisher

  The bards all stood a little straighter.

  Callie whispered to him, “Somebody might think you’d done this before.”

  “I’d hoped not to have to do it again.”

  Leonidas had been watching the slow, steady progress of Shade’s army through the dragon’s eyes for most of the morning. The hours he’d spent sorting potatoes as a child had been only marginally more tedious. At least sending the dragon appeared to have scared off anyone that might be thinking of attacking.

  He blew out a long sigh. Only a couple more hours and they’d be safe. If he’d known this was going to happen, he would have sent them along with Jax and the flying ship. Ah, well. Live and learn. Leonidas wasn’t used to being an emperor. He couldn’t be expected to get everything right the first time.

  The first fireball exploded a heartbeat later. There was no sound through the viewing window, but men’s bodies flew in every direction, confirming the attack’s power. A second blast followed seconds after the first.

  “Where did that come from?”

  Ariel looked up at him from her seat in the golden throne. “Don’t know.”

  “Well look.”

  She looked all around the throne room. “Don’t know.”

  Sometimes he wanted to strangle her, but ultimately the fault lay with him. The crown’s magic compelled her to do exactly what he said. If he gave vague orders, he couldn’t expect good results.

  “Have the dragon look for the source of the attacks.”

  The image in the window shifted left then right. Six robed figures flew twenty yards above the ground. As he watched a third and fourth fireball shot out to slam into the panicking soldiers.

  “Bloody Carttoom wizards. Order the dragon to kill them all.”

  The view shifted quickly as the dragon took to the air. As soon as it did, the wizards scattered in every direction.

  The dragon picked the leftmost wizard and rushed after her.

  Despite the wizard’s speed, she couldn’t keep ahead of the dragon.

  Fire rushed out.

  As it did, the wizard dropped and flames shot over her head, missing completely.

  Leonidas snarled as the dragon banked in pursuit.

  He felt a familiar pressure in the back of his mind. Shade was trying to contact him. He wasn’t accomplishing anything here. With a thought, he completed the connection, conjuring a second window, this one directly in front of him.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “We could use some help here, Boss. We’ve got bards on one flank and wizards on the other. I don’t know what the dragon’s doing, but it isn’t helping us any.”

  Enough of this foolishness! “Hold on, Shade. Help’s on the way.”

  He dismissed the window. Trying to use the dragon for this sort of thing was clearly a waste of time. Controlling them secondhand wasn’t good enough.

  “Release the dragon and take a nap,” Leonidas said.

  The window vanished and a moment later Ariel slumped in the throne, her eyes closed and her breathing slow and even. Leonidas left the throne room and stalked out of the tower. The rest of his cadre were off completing the tasks he’d set for them earlier so there was no one to ask stupid questions as he marched out of the tower.

  Drawing on the ring’s power, he took to the air. Even from this distance he could sense the magic being hurled at his men. He flew toward it at maximum speed.

  The first wizard didn’t even have time to react before a crimson pulse sliced her in half.

  The second was stupid enough to hurl a lightning bolt at him. His ring absorbed it and his counterattack reduced the wizard to ash.

  He had their attention now. On the ground, Shade and his remaining mercenaries had made a defensive circle with their shields locked to block the incoming spells as best they could given the fact that the ground was heaving and tossing them around. That had to be the bards’ doing.

  Leonidas couldn’t absorb spirit magic, but he could kill the bards. He spotted them after a brief search. A dozen of them were standing on a hill around a quarter mile away. That was well within his range.

  He pointed and a crimson ray streaked out. The bards dropped and the earth calmed. Leonidas studied the area, searching for someone else to kill. He found nothing but clouds.

  Satisfied that the area was secure, he landed beside Shade.

  “Glad you made it, Boss. They were tearing us apart.”

  “Your bloody dragon was useless!” one of the mercenaries shouted. Lucky for him, Leonidas couldn’t tell who it was.

  “How many did you lose?”

  “Not sure yet,” Shade said. “About a third I’d say.”

  Leonidas grimaced. That would set his timeline back, but not significantly. “I’ll protect you the rest of the way myself. Let’s get going.”

  “Hold on,” one of the mercenaries said. “Shade said this was going to be an easy job. Now here we are getting blasted by wizards. Maybe we don’t want the work after all.”

  Leonidas looked the man over. He was a grizzled veteran probably around forty with a scarred face and well-worn armor. Not a coward then. Well enough.

  “It’s important you understand,” Leonidas said. “There’s no place for mercenaries in my new empire. You’re going to have the choice of joining my army or finding work on a farm. Should you choose to fight for my enemies, you’ll end up like McGregor. If you choose to fight me, you’ll end up worse. Decide now, all of you. But once you decide, there’s no backing out and no changing your mind. You can join me or walk away right now.”

  He looked from one soldier to the next, meeting their gazes one by one. A few wavered but none broke. At last he nodded and said, “Let’s go.”

  As he rose into the air, it became clear that relying on the dragons exclusively was a mistake. When necessary, he’d still have to get his hands dirty. The thought, oddly, cheered him.

  Chapter 11

  “They’re leaving,” Tonia reported.

  Moz knelt beside one of the bards grazed by that last attack. The boy’s arm had been half severed. Callie was busy with a young woman that had nearly lost her leg. He’d have to control the bleeding until she was finished.

  “Let them go. We did some damage, that’ll have to be enough.”

  Blood leaked through his fingers, so he pressed down harder. Hurry, Callie, I don’t want to lose this kid. Gods damn Leonidas Black and that cursed ring of his. Moz had planned on dodging a dragon not him. In truth, he’d never even considered the possibility that the leader of the whole group would simply abandon the tower and come after them. And this foul-up was the result. Not his finest moment by far. He’d send a message to the wizard once they returned to camp. Hopefully she’d at least be willing to talk.

  Callie shifted over beside him. “I’ve got it.”

  He let go and Callie began healing. The blood flow stopped at once. He stood and wiped the sweat from his brow. The enemy force had marched out of sight, leaving their dead behind like so much trash.

  Moz scratched his chin and pointed at two of the three rangers he’d brought to watch their backs as they fought. “Let’s take a walk.”

  The three men strode down to the bodies. Most had burned to death, but three looked like they’d been crushed by some invisible force. Scary what magic could do.

  “What are we looking for, sir?” asked Edred, a veteran ranger that Moz had served with before.

  “Disguises. If we look like one of their mercenaries, it might make sneaking toward the tower a little safer.” Moz shrugged. He was grasping at straws and from the looks his men gave him they knew it as well. Still, he refused to give up. In a war, you had to accept that not everything was going to go your way.

  It took half an hour, but they collected enough odds and ends to put four uniforms together. They gathered their prizes and found the others up and ready to move. Even the badly injured bards were up and able to walk thanks to Callie’s magic. The dead were, unfortunately, beyond anyon
e’s help.

  Moz glanced at Albert. “Could you bury the mercenaries for me?”

  “Why bother?” the bard asked. “Those bastards hardly deserve it.”

  So young and already a hard case. “You’re right, but if someone comes looking, I don’t want them to be able to tell what I took. No one is apt to dig up the bodies just to make sure none of their uniforms are missing.”

  Albert touched the ground and hummed. The bodies slowly sank into the earth until you couldn’t even tell where they’d been save for the charred earth and grass above them.

  Moz clapped him on the shoulder. “Good work, thanks. Let’s head back to camp and get something to eat. The war continues tomorrow.”

  The walk back was dismal and quiet. The young bards especially now understood just what they faced. Not that things had been easy for them up until now, but this was the closest some of them had ever come to a real battle. He feared it was going to get worse before it got better.

  Their tents were in sight when Tamsin came running toward them. There was nothing to indicate a fight, but Moz tensed up all the same. Something had the girl worried and after this morning, he expected the worst.

  When she got close Callie asked, “What is it?”

  “That lady wizard showed up twenty minutes ago and she’s not in a good mood. I offered her tea, but she wasn’t interested. She’s stalking around Moz’s tent like a caged lion. I told everyone to keep their distance. I take it things didn’t go well.”

  “We lost two of our three earth masters,” Moz said. “But she lost three wizards.”

  “That’s not your fault,” Callie said.

  Moz knew it wasn’t his fault, but he felt the loss keenly all the same. He didn’t even take any comfort in the fact that they were Carttoom wizards and if they’d survived, he might have had to fight them himself one day. For now they were allies and he didn’t want to bury any more.

  “You all get something to eat. I’ll see what she wants.” The wizard refused to talk to anyone but Moz anyway.

  “You sure?” Callie asked.

  He nodded and turned toward his tent. When he arrived, he pushed through the flap and found his counterpart pacing around the small space.

  As soon as she saw him, she said, “That was a colossal failure. Your planning leaves a great deal to be desired. I’m tempted to take my people and leave you to your own devices.”

  “You were there too when the plan was made and teaming up was your idea. If you want to go, then go. I’m sure if you give up, the Dark Sages will be happy to accept Carttoom as part of their new empire.”

  She stared at him as if she was just seeing him for the first time.

  “What?” he asked. “Did you think I was going to beg you not to go? Maybe offer to put you in full command of both groups? My people wouldn’t take orders from a Carttoom wizard any more than yours would from a Rend ranger. Now, are you done posturing? If so, we should try and come up with a new plan.”

  She actually cracked a smile. It was a wonder her face didn’t shatter.

  “It seems I have underestimated you. The truth is, I’m out of ideas. Our magic is useless against dragons and worse, that man turned our power against us. If the elemental dragons couldn’t take down the tower, I can’t imagine how we can. Even the siege will be difficult to maintain with that man’s power facing us.”

  “Leonidas Black is a problem, as are the dragons. That said, I think trying to maintain the siege is a good idea. He can’t be everywhere at once and if nothing else our attack proved that the dragon is useless against a single opponent. That’s why he got personally involved.”

  “You make good points. As long as we don’t use our magic against Black, we should still be able to eliminate any ordinary foes that press us.” She nodded once as if making up her mind. “Very well. I agree that maintaining our alliance is still the best course. We’ll handle our sides. Good luck.”

  She marched out of the tent. Moz let out a long sigh and muttered, “Good luck. To us all.”

  Moz, Callie, and a pair of rangers approached the Dark Sages headquarters on foot after tying their horses up in a grove of trees half a mile away. They waited a full day after their battle with mercenaries before leaving to explore the place. Nothing seemed to be happening in the ruined city and Moz was eager to see if they could learn anything useful about Leonidas’s plan. Not that he expected to find a journal with My Evil Plan written on the cover, but any clue would be valuable.

  There were a pair of guards on duty, but neither of them looked overly keen on their work. In fact, they were so intent on arguing with each other that they hadn’t yet noticed Moz and his companions approaching.

  Moz pointed at his rangers then at the two guards then drew a finger across his throat. The men nodded, strung their bows, nocked arrows, and loosed. Rangers were among the best archers in Rend and these two proved it. Their shots took both guards right through the throat. They dropped, clawed at their wounds, and went still.

  Moz and his companions sprinted over to the open gate and paused. Inside, the courtyard was empty. Moz expected a servant or something at the very least. The total lack of people made him more nervous than a waiting force of guards.

  “Are you sure just the four of us is enough?” Callie asked.

  “No, but I didn’t want to weaken our forces more than I absolutely had to. Besides, this place looks practically deserted.”

  “If that’s true, why are there guards?”

  Moz shrugged. She had a point, but they weren’t going back now. Not without taking a good look around anyway.

  He led the way across the clearing, forcing a path through a foot of snow to the keep’s main gate. He pushed and found the doors unlocked. The grand entry hall beyond was every bit as empty of people as the courtyard. A huge red carpet covered the floor and there were leather chairs for visitors. Two doors led out of the room and deeper into the keep. All in all it was a nice room for the lair of a group of crazy wizards.

  Moz held his breath and listened. Not so much as a squeak. The Carttoom wizard had said there were a few servants, but as far as Moz could tell, there weren’t any here now.

  “Which way?” Callie’s voice sounded loud in the silence.

  “I don’t know. One way is as good as another. You can’t sense anyone?”

  She closed her eyes and hummed softly. “No, but my power’s range is only about ten yards.”

  Moz picked the right-hand door at random and set out. The hall beyond was lit by magical lamps placed at regular intervals. Four doors lined the hall and behind each was an empty room. They kept looking for most of an hour before they were finished with the ground floor.

  “I saw a flight of stairs a little way back,” Callie said. “Shall we try the second floor?”

  “Might as well,” Moz said. “It has to be better than the first floor.”

  They retraced their steps to the staircase and Moz stopped dead. An older woman in a red scholar’s robe stood at the foot of the stairs. Gold sparkled at her neck and on her fingers. This lady had never been a servant in her life. And if she wasn’t a servant, then she was a Dark Sage.

  Moz’s swords were in his hands before he made a conscious decision to draw them.

  The woman raised her hand.

  He expected a spell of some sort but instead she said, “Calm yourself. I’ve been expecting you.”

  Moz didn’t relax a fraction. “You’ve been expecting us?”

  “Let me clarify. I’ve been expecting someone like you. One of Leonidas’s enemies. It is only natural that you would come here to search for information. I’m happy to help you find it.”

  “Why? Who are you?” Moz asked.

  “My name is High Sage Southmore. As to why, the answer is simple. I don’t believe that what Leonidas is doing is good for the group. We have flourished for decades by remaining hidden. This stupid empire business of his threatens to ruin all our work.”

  “But if he succeeds,
won’t that make the Dark Sages the most powerful group in the world?” Callie asked.

  Southmore’s laugh was harsh and bitter. “Hardly. It will make Leonidas the most powerful man in the world, but he’s not the sort to share. I am no one’s lackey, even if he wouldn’t have called me so.”

  “Why is he doing this?” Moz asked. “As far as I can tell, he’s pretty close to the most powerful man on the planet already.”

  “You’re quite right, but for all his power, few actually know who he is. Power without respect and fear doesn’t suit him at all. Being an emperor, on the other hand, suits him very well indeed.”

  Moz sheathed his blades. If she’d meant to attack, she’d have done so by now. “I’m happy to accept any help you can offer.”

  Her smile held true warmth. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to hear that? My whole life I’ve been surrounded by arrogant men who would rather cut off their own arm than listen to me. I wish I could do more, but if you’ll follow me, I believe I can set you on the right path.”

  Southmore strode away from the stairs and down one of the halls they’d already searched. Moz couldn’t imagine what they might have missed, but for now he was content to follow and be proven wrong. They trailed their guide to a spot near the center of the keep where she stood facing a blank wall. Southmore made a mystic pass in front of it and a section sank into the floor.

  “This is the passage that leads to Leonidas’s pet alchemist’s lab. He believes none of us know about it, but there’s nothing in the keep I don’t know about. You may find something useful down there or you might not. Either way I’ve given you all the help I can.” So saying she walked away without a backward glance.

  When she’d gone around a corner, Moz nodded after her. One of the rangers set out only to return seconds later. “She’s gone,” the man said.

  Of course she was. Moz hated wizards. “You two keep watch up here. I’d don’t want anyone closing the door while Callie and I are looking around.”

  The rangers offered crisp salutes and he led the way down a twisting flight of steps. Every twenty feet or so a magical lantern burst to light. At the bottom, a large room opened up in front of them. It was a mess. Broken glass lay scattered everywhere. Some caustic liquid dripped through a hole it had burned in one of the wooden tables.