Knight Fire Page 6

  The golden-eyed dragon stepped forward, slinking its way right up to Farrus. It took in a deep breath, smelling the human and so much more. Where there had been fear before, there was no more.

  Patiently, Farrus stood, waiting for the dragon to make the next move. Several spells were on his lips, ready to be cast in an instant.

  Eventually, the dragon lifted its head up into the air and looked down at Farrus from its full height. “What is it you want?”

  “I would say complete devotion, but it is clear that you will not give me that. So instead, I only ask that you do my bidding. You can do it willingly, or you can do it begrudgingly. I do not care which. But my bidding, you will do. The life of your companion depends on it.”

  The golden-eyed dragon turned its head towards the other dragon. For a long minute, the two looked at one another. When the golden-eyed dragon finally turned back to Farrus, it gave a slight nod of its large snout. “You may have awakened us from our slumber, but that does not mean that we are beholden to you. Nor do I take kindly to threats. For now, you have the upper hand., so I will do what you ask of me. But the moment I am free, I will devour you.”

  Farrus smiled. “We fight against the same enemies. The Humans of this realm have spread across the seas and populated all the land of this world. They are a parasite that has latched itself onto the earth and is sucking the very life from it.”

  Another low grumble came from the belly of the golden-eyed dragon. “Your enemy may be my enemy, but that does not make you my friend.”

  “In time, you will see and come to my side as my ally. I will give you and all your kind an entire continent of this world to live. You will be left alone to live and exist as you see fit. No one to bother you. No one to hunt you down for your scales or your blood.”

  “You can promise all you want, but I will never trust the words of the Deceiver.”

  “In time, you will see.” Farrus held up the black gem that was the Ark of Life. “The power of the Ark is limited, unlike anything I would have expected. I know its power, and I know that it has more power than what I can use right now. But you have witnessed yourself the power of the Ark of Life in the early days of the world. What do you know about the Ark of Life that I do not know?”

  “I have always found it interesting that the people of the Creator have called you the Deceiver when the Creator is truly the greatest deceiver of them all. He gives you knowledge, but not all of it. He allows you to see into his realm and even allows you to build yourself an army. He controls you, more than you are willing to recognize. You see only what he allows you to see when he allows you to see it. It seems that now, for whatever reason, the Creator is allowing you to see what the Ark truly is.” The dragon paused for a moment. “Why would I tell you the answers to the questions you ask?”

  “Only with the full power of the Ark of Life can I return this realm back to what it once was, when your kind ruled not only the skies but the land as well.”

  The dragon replied, “In your hands is only a part of the Ark of Life. When I last flew the skies of earth, the two pieces of the Ark of Life were together. Now, it is but one piece.”

  A sudden realization fell over Farrus. Of course finding the Ark of Life had been too easy. “What is this other part? What does it look like?”

  “The black gem of the Ark was embedded in a gold amulet that hung from the neck of the bearer. I would imagine that is what you seek.”

  “Where is it?”

  The golden-eyed dragon shook its head slowly from left to right. “I would not know. It has been many countless eons since I last flew these skies. Much has changed since then. Kingdoms and empires have come and gone. The world is a much bigger place, now. There are people groups scattered from one end of the globe to the other. Any one of them could be hiding this other piece. It could take you a thousand years to find it.”

  “No!” Farrus shouted back. “You will help me. You will find this other piece for me!”

  The Stone Ogre pulled its arm tighter around the throat of the dragon. A croaking sound came from the raised snout of the dragon. Its eyes bulged out in fear.

  “You ask the impossible!” the golden-eyed dragon shouted. Even in his head, without an audible voice, Farrus could sense fear in the dragon’s words. “You hold the fate of Immerallis over my head. I would do many things to protect his life, but if you demand that I find the other piece of the Ark of Life for you, you might as well go ahead and kill him, for I cannot help you with that task. I do not know where it is.”

  The Stone Ogre continued to squeeze his arm tighter and Immerallis, the green-eyed dragon, gasped and struggled to breathe.

  “You would end it here?” The golden-eyed dragon asked, snaking its head forward. “You kill Immerallis, and then I would destroy your body and send you back to where you came from?”

  “You would have to fight my Stone Ogres, first.”

  “Yes, I would, and I would defeat them. And then I would kill you. Or maybe I’d kill you first. It is your choice.”

  Farrus glanced at the Stone Ogre, and it relaxed its grip so that Immerallis could breathe easily. To the golded-eyed dragon, he said, “My armies will be spreading out from this land and across the continent. You will precede them, destroying Human cities and killing any Human settlement you come across. Village-by-village, city-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, you will search for the necklace. When you find it, you will return it to me. Then I will release your companion.”

  “You ask me to kill Humans, then that is what I will do. Their stench overwhelms my senses.” The long snout of the dragon swept from left to right before adding, “Almost as bad as the putrid smell of these things you have called forth. If you desire the full power of the Ark of Life, that is on you. Your slaves can search the rubble for what you seek for I will not do your work for you.”

  “As allies, we can conquer the world.”

  The dragon snorted. “Our mutual hatred of the Humans does not make us allies. I will return when the cities of the Humans have been laid waste, and my taste of their blood has been satisfied. Then you will free my Immeralllis.”

  Without another word, the golden-eyed dragon gave the other dragon one last quick glance before it leaped up into the air and spread its wings. With two flaps, the dragon was airborne and streaking up into the sky.

  Farrus watched it for a moment, making sure that it was heading east towards the closest human city. His own army was already heading there, albeit slowly. Goblins did not like the forests and struggled to pass through them with any sort of speed.

  Farrus turned to call for a goblin tribal leader, but all he saw around him were burned carcasses. Hundreds of goblins had been unfortunate enough to be caught by the dragon’s breath. Their burned bodies were already stinking.

  “Goblin!” Farrus called out.

  Movement from behind a stone pile caught his eye. A large goblin with a slice across his face that oozed puss ran up to him. The stench of the open wound caused Farrus to flinch.

  “Yes, me Lord!”

  “You will forge irons to hold this dragon. One for each limb and a fifth for its neck and a single chain to link them all together. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, me Lord,” the goblin repeated. “We are of the Perrikian tribe. Metals we can do.”

  “The ogres will be constructing a dungeon to hold the beast and the chains and irons must be ready when the dungeon is complete. You have two days.”

  The goblin bowed lower. “There is much metal in the city. Two days it is.” It turned and ran off.

  Farrus glanced at the green-eyed dragon and the Stone Ogre holding it squeezed its neck, cutting off the dragon’s air.

  “Just a reminder as to who is in control,” Farrus said. “You may never die of disease or old age, but you can still be killed. Immortality is a power reserved for gods like me.”

  Chapter Four

  The rain had stopped overnight and the morning brought clear skies and some welcomed warmt
h. With the sun shining down from overhead, Marik was actually starting to sweat under his thick wool cloak, but he couldn’t let his discomfort affect his still hands. His left hand firmly grasped the smooth, well-worn grip of the hunting bow. His right-hand fingers pulled the bowstring back to his ear. His strong back and shoulders held the bow in place, unwavering, despite the tremendous amount of compression on the old oak bow. Directly down the sight of the arrow was a large buck, its head held high, showing off a tall rack of antlers. It stood still atop a small rise at the center of a clearing. Just a moment ago its head was dipped into the tall grass, but now, its ears were perked.

  Marik had just about been to release the arrow when it lifted its head. He had expected it to suddenly run off, but it remained still. His stomach rumbled at the thought of fresh meat cooked over a fire, and he couldn’t let his anxiousness get in the way of his patience. The large animal would only fall if it were struck in the heart. Anything else and it would simply run off into the woods. Eventually, it might fall and die, but it could end up running for miles before that happened. Their camp needed fresh meat to keep them going, and this large deer would give them what his hungry people needed.

  After a slight adjustment to his aim, he drew in a shallow breath and slowly let it out.

  A shadow suddenly flashed across his vision. In a blur of motion, the deer was gone. His heart pounded as he felt the breeze from the large wings even from his hidden spot in the trees. With the bow still drawn, he jumped up from his low crouch and raced into the clearing to see the dark form of the dragon pumping its wings just above the trees, heading away from him. The deer kicked and thrashed in its mouth.

  In desperation, he pulled back even farther on the string and released his arrow at a spot just ahead of the large body. The arrow struck the dragon’s body, but simply bounced off its thick scales.

  With anger filling him at the lost meal, Marik screamed at the top of his lungs, sending as many curse words at the beast as he could. It was only when the dragon spread its wings wide and made a long, slow turn that Marik realized that he had drawn attention to himself. Before the dragon could complete its turn, Marik turned and ran back into the trees.

  With heart racing and his lungs straining for air, he darted around trees and pushed his way through the thorny underbrush. A sense of fear filled his thoughts as he ran. Firing the arrow at the dragon and yelling at it should have simply been ignored. The beast had its meal in its jaws, and he offered no threat at all. Any other animal, even the most ferocious predators would have not bothered with him. The moment the beast banked and began its turn back towards him, Marik realized that this beast was more than just an animal.

  The shock of seeing a creature from legend and myth had worn off that first night when South Karmon had been attacked and destroyed. His witness of their viciousness would never leave his memory, which is why he was running now. He knew wild animals could attack with similar ferocity, but only if attacked themselves or if they were protecting their young. Packs of wolves could be especially deadly on their hunt, but their goal was to find food, not to simply destroy everything in their path. A single grizzly bear could easily rip a man apart, but only if it were threatened, or its cubs were threatened. They would otherwise ignore humans. But what he saw from the dragon in the sky was something different, something far greater than simply animal instinct. It scared him then, and it should have scared him this time. Instead, he forgot his discipline and let his anger get the better of him. He knew he should have been stronger than that, but his new life on the run changed many aspects of himself. The strict discipline of knighthood was waning, and it could cost him his life if he isn’t careful.

  A screech from overhead told him the dragon was just above him. The canopy of the forest was thick, so he thought he might be able to be hidden from its searching eyes, but his instincts told him otherwise.

  On that fateful night when the dragons had made their destructive appearance, he had made his way through the destroyed city towards the castle witnessing with his own eyes what the dragons were capable of. There were only two of them, but between the fire that came out of their mouths, jaws that could rip a man in two, and the long talons on each of their four limbs, there was nothing that could stop them. Neither arrows nor crossbow bolts could penetrate the thick armor scales that covered their bodies. He had no idea if steel could cut into them, as they simply fought from the air, away from any sword that might cause harm. At that time., he had hidden in the shadows, sneaking his way to the castle, keeping out of sight and harm’s way. Now, though, there was nowhere to hide. They could fly faster than he could run. He knew his death was inevitable, but as a former Karmon Knight, he had always known that death was just around the corner.

  He made a sudden turn to the left. A small opening in the underbrush had appeared, which would allow him to run at full speed. Maybe, just maybe, he could lose the dragon in the trees. While he ran, his eyes scanned the forest around him. With the open path in front of him, he could not only run at full speed, but he could also glance around, searching for a hiding place. His heart skipped a beat as he suddenly recognized the open path he was on. It was the same path that he had used when heading out from their camp to find food. He was leading the dragon right back towards the camp. Fear for his own life left him, replaced by fear for all the lives that would be lost once the dragon found the rest of the survivors.

  He stopped and pulled an arrow out of his quiver. His heart pounded hard, and he was breathing hard, too hard to fire his bow accurately. But that wasn’t the point. The idea was only to draw the dragon to him and away from his camp. He aimed up at a small opening in the trees above his head and released the arrow. It flew straight through and then disappeared from his view as soon as it cleared the trees.

  A dark shadow passed overhead. He took another arrow, aimed and fired in less than a second. This arrow bounced off the dragon once again. But he didn’t care. He didn’t want to kill it, only to make sure it didn’t find the camp.

  The dragon shrieked again, but this sound was different. And then an instant later he saw the trees above him explode in fire. He knew he was dead. There was no fear of dying. He just hoped it would be quick and painless.

  But the fire never struck him. It went around him. He could feel the heat from the dragon’s breath, but it never actually touched him. When the fire stopped, the leaves and branches above his head were all gone, exposing a large hole in the forest. Directly in that opening was the dragon, pumping its wings and hovering in place. It had two golden eyes that glared fiercely at him.

  With a quick glance, Marik could see the forest all around him was blackened and burned away. The smell of fire hung in the air, but he was untouched.

  Then, small balls of fire streaked from some distance away and struck the dragon’s body. It let out another cry before it turned and furiously flapped its wings to escape the steady stream of fireballs.

  Marik dropped to a knee, his heart beating hard, and his chest still heaving. He could no longer see the dragon, but he could still hear the thumping of its wings. But the sound was fading as it flew away.

  Shouting caught his attention and he stood as a small group of mixed Karmon and Taran soldiers broke through the clearing. Julius, in full armor and shortsword drawn, led them.

  “Sir Marik!” Julius called out. “We saw the beast coming and thought for sure you were dead.”

  “I am fine,” Marik replied. “A bit shaken, though. What happened?”

  “That was me!” a voice called out from behind them all.

  Hargon strode past the soldiers, a wide smile on his face.

  “You?”

  Hargon rubbed his hands together. “Wow! That was incredible. The power that I could feel was so amazing! I wish that the beast would come back so that I could throw some more at it!”

  Marik glared at the former emperor. “Come back? It almost killed me and all of us! How could you say such a thing!”

&nbs
p; Hargon laughed. “Did you see what I did? The one spell that protected you? And then the fireballs that came from my hands? I have never felt so alive in my life!”

  Hargon watched with intense excitement as the dragon disappeared into the distance. The electric pulse of magic still tingled in his fingertips, leaving him with an empty feeling of desiring more. All the times that he had used his powers to save a life had never felt anything like what he had just felt. The power that swept through him was more powerful than any aphrodisiac could muster. The tingling slowly went away, but the memory of the power did not.

  He thought momentarily about what the Elf Glaerion had told him about magic and why he could make life come out death, and restore energy and power to those who had lost it. He had been told that it was his innate power that allowed him to do those things. It was built into him and instinctual. The powerful spellcasting, like what his brother Tarcious had done, required learned practice and memorization of the words of a spell. It was not the words themselves that caused the power of the spell to be released, but it was the words that were the catalyst for the spell.

  It had taken a moment for Marik to realize what had happened and when it did, his heart felt cold. “What was that?” Marik asked.

  “Magic!” Hargon replied.

  “How?”

  “The words that the Elf Glaerion said and the words that my brother said when they used magic stuck with me. I’ve been repeating them in my head since that day. And it seems that it was a good thing, as I was able to use those words to cast the spells! Can you believe that!”

  Marik shook his head. “I don’t understand, but I believe it because I saw it.”

  “We have nothing to fear, now! I have the power to defend ourselves and to attack our enemies!”