A Charge of Valor (21 page)
Authors: Morgan Rice
Tags: #scifi, #epic fantasy, #juvenile, #Adventure, #teenage, #dragon, #Magic, #Series, #Fiction, #teen, #Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #fantasy series, #YA, #sword, #sorcerer, #action, #Monsters
Alistair did not give them time to decide: she burst out the gates, and into the open countryside. She rode alone, across the empty landscape, galloping for somewhere on the horizon, somewhere Erec was.
Kendrick sat huddled against a wall, hidden inside the passage beneath Silesia, Godfrey, Akorth, Fulton, Brom, Atme, Srog and Sandara with him. The eight of them had been holed up there all night, hiding out from the slew of Empire forces looking for them. All night Kendrick listened to the hurried footsteps of soldiers scrambling, eager to find them. But they were too well hidden, thanks to Sandara.
They had all spent the night recuperating, Kendrick sleeping for the first time, stretching out his weary limbs, as did the others. Sandara had given them each water and wine, and had applied various salves to help heal their wounds. Although sore and stiff, Kendrick was beginning to feel back to his old self. It was surreal to be here, to feel alive again. He had been sure he would never come down from that cross alive again.
Kendrick looked over at his brother Godfrey with a whole new respect. He lay slumped against the wall, Akorth and Fulton beside him, three people in the world who Kendrick would never have imagined would aid in his rescue. Kendrick knew that Godfrey did not have the martial skills of a warrior—but he had to admire him for what he did have: craftiness, and supreme survival skills. After all, of all of them, Godfrey was the only one who had managed to survive, and to free them. He also had a lot of heart. Disguised as an enemy soldier, Godfrey could have ran away; instead, he risked death to come back for all of them. It raised Godfrey in Kendrick’s eyes; he thought of him now as much as a warrior as any of his compatriots in the Silver. And he owed him his life.
“
I have to thank you,” Kendrick said, leaning over to Godfrey.
Godfrey looked up, surprised.
“
You are my brother,” Godfrey said. “There’s nothing to thank me for. Besides, we didn’t do much.”
“
You are wrong,” Kendrick said. “You did a tremendous thing. You displayed bravery and valor. Most men in your position would have turned and ran. But you came back for us.”
Godfrey shrugged.
“
I shirked my duties my entire life,” he said. “It was the least I could do.”
“
The hardest part of all of it was not having another drink,” Akorth chimed in, smiling.
“
This hero stuff is hard,” Fulton chimed in. “If it came with a few pints of ale, it might be more tolerable.”
Kendrick couldn’t help smiling back.
“
Don’t worry,” Brom said, leaning over. “If we make it out of here alive, I’ll see to it you get an entire tavern named just for you.”
“
You are a wishful thinker,” Akorth said. “We are completely surrounded. There are thousands of troops out there. We have nowhere to go. How will we survive this?”
“
We’re not,” Fulton answered, shaking his head. “We’re going to waste away in this tunnel, like a bunch of rats, and die here.”
“
Either that,” Akorth said, “or surrender.”
Kendrick shifted, agitated, having grappled with the same thoughts himself all night.
Kendrick looked over at Sandara, who sat against the wall, looking calmly down. She was even more beautiful in the dim light of this cave, beneath the flickering of the torch, than when he had seen her up on the cross. His heart beat faster looking at her.
“
You helped us just as much,” he said to her. “You risked your life for the enemy.”
“
You are not my enemy,” she said. “I serve Andronicus out of obligation, not desire.”
“
Still, you risked death,” Kendrick said. “For all of us.”
Sandara lowered her eyes.
“
I did what anyone else would have done,” she said.
Kendrick felt his heart pulling for her, felt a stronger attraction to her than he had to anyone in his life. He wondered if she felt something for him, too.
“
If we ever get out of here,” he said to her. “I will find a way to repay you.”
She slowly shook her head.
“
No, my Lord,” she said. “You already have. You allowed me to take action, to finally run from Andronicus’ army. I should have done so long ago. I may die, with the rest of you. But at least now I will die as a free woman, and not as a slave.”
“
What is all this talk of death?” Atme boomed out. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t plan on dying on this day.”
“
Nor do I,” Kendrick chimed in.
“
Nor I,” said Srog and Brom.
“
I’m fine with not dying,” Fulton said, raising a hand in agreement. “After all, I haven’t had my full of ale. I’m not ready to go to heaven yet.”
“
Heaven
?” Akorth laughed. “Aren’t you presumptuous?”
Fulton reddened.
“
Well if I’m going to hell, you’re coming on my coattails,” he answered.
“
I’m paving my own way to hell,” Akorth replied.
“
Why don’t we all pave our way together?” Kendrick asked.
They all turned to him, hearing the seriousness in his voice, falling silent.
“
What do you mean?” Godfrey asked.
“
I mean, I, for one, do not plan on lying here to die like a dog. Nor am I prepared to end my life in surrender, so that Andronicus can torture us.”
“
Nor I!” Atme shot back.
Kendrick, feeling emboldened, sat up straighter, feeling a new power rise within him.
“
Then I say we fight!” Kendrick said.
“
Fight?” Akorth asked, puzzled.
“
We may all die,” Kendrick said. “But we will die together. On our feet. Now is our moment, before we waste away. We will go out there and surprise them, and kill as many Empire as we can. And come what may, we will go out in one final charge of valor!”
The others cheered, jumping to their feet, each drawing their weapons.
Sandara stood and nodded solemnly to Kendrick. She walked to him, lay her hands on his forehead, leaned in and kissed it.
“
May the gods be in your favor,” she said, “in this lifetime and the next.”
She crossed the room, undid the bolts, and opened the secret chamber door for them.
Kendrick led the others as they charged from the chamber. They emerged from the black hole into the bright light of morning, exiting in the Silesian courtyard, Kendrick squinting against the sun. There was a large group of unsuspecting Empire soldiers before them, and they all charged them with a great battle cry, and before the soldiers could figure out what was happening, they had slaughtered all of them. There were quickly a dozen dead.
Hundreds of Silesian captives, stood nearby and watched, bound to each other. Kendrick had an idea.
“
FREE OUR BROTHERS!” Kendrick yelled.
The group of men ran to them and sliced their ropes, freeing one after the other.
The men broke free with a shout and ran and grabbed weapons off of the downed soldiers, and off of the corpses lying on the battlefield. The group grew larger by the second, each person freeing someone else. Soon there numbers swelled to over a hundred men.
The main camp of Empire soldiers, on the far side of the courtyard, were only beginning to realize what was happening, and they began to turn at the sound of the shouts. They clearly had not been expecting this. They stood there, shocked.
“
CHARGE!” Kendrick shouted.
Hundreds of Silesians, led by Kendrick, let out a great shout, racing across the courtyard with weapons held high and vengeance in their eyes. Srog, Brom, Atme, Godfrey, Akorth and Fulton ran beside them, across the courtyard, towards the distant group of Empire soldiers, who now turned and charged for them.
Thor, wielding the Destiny Sword in one hand, held onto the back of the dragon’s neck with the other, as they soared through the air, racing away from the dragons’ lair. Riding with him on the back of Mycoples were Reece, O’Connor, Elden, Conven and Indra, holding Krohn, all of them laden with the new weapons they had found. And Thor carrying the greatest weapon of all.
Thor was controlling Mycoples, leaning down and whispering in her ear, and she was listening. Thor felt as if he had known her his whole life, and he also felt within him an uncanny ability to control her. He felt in some ways as if he and the animal were one.
As they flew, a million thoughts raced through Thor’s mind. So much had happened so quickly, he could hardly process it all. Here he was, flying on the back of a dragon, which he could hardly understand. It felt surreal. How did he have the power to summon it? To control it? Was it because Thor had some special power? Or because he had some special connection to this beast? Or was it both?
Most importantly: who was he? How was he able to wield the Destiny Sword? He had grabbed it out of desperation, not expecting, of course, to be able to hoist it. But ever since he had, he could not let go of it. The energy of it gushed through him like a river. Legend held that only a MacGil could wield it. Did that mean that he, Thor, was a MacGil? How was that possible? Was the legend wrong?
That also meant that he was the Chosen One. But chosen for what, exactly? How could he, a simple shepherd from the outskirts of the Ring, possibly be the Chosen One? He, a mere boy? He wondered if a mistake had been made.
As Thor reflected on how far they had come, on all that they had done to cross the Empire, he felt a sense of victory beyond description that they had made it this far, had actually found the Sword, had retrieved it, and were returning with it. He could hardly comprehend it. At the very moment when all had seemed darkest, somehow, they had prevailed.
The only way out is through.
Thor looked down as they flew, the landscape beautiful from here. Below were rivers of lava, volcanoes spewing forth fire and ash in the air. When they were down there it had been threatening; now, from up above, it was picturesque, like a huge painting unfolding beneath them. They flew through clouds that came and went. The farther they got, the more the clouds of ash and sulfur gave way to open sky and clear wisps of cloud.
They flew so fast, it nearly took Thor’s breath away. They headed east, towards home, and Thor only hoped that they could return to the Ring in time to save his people. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to think of Gwen. To
really
think of her. To really imagine him being with her again. He had been afraid to dwell on it before, as he’d thought his chances of return were impossible. But now, for the first time, it felt as if it could really happen. And he allowed himself to believe once again.
Suddenly there came a distant roar from somewhere behind them, and Thor’s heart dropped as he turned to see an army of dragons, soaring in the air, chasing after them. There were dozens of them, black and red and green, breathing fire, screeching. They were in a rage. Thor did not know if it was because they had taken the Destiny Sword, or because they had stolen their treasure, or because Mycoples had betrayed them. Whatever it was, they seemed set on vengeance.
“
Faster!” Thor screamed, into Mycoples’ ear. Her wings flapped harder and he felt himself lunge forward.
The terrain changed below them as they flew faster and faster, the landscape becoming a blur. They left the land of the dragons, flew over the mountain peaks, past the trail of bones, over the great tunnel. The salt fields appeared below, shining white; soon these passed, and they were crossing over rolling green hills. Then swamps, mountains, ridges, lakes….
On and on they went, and Thor felt as if he were watching their entire journey, his entire life, pass by beneath them.
They finally reached the jungle where they had first arrived at the Empire, a huge mass of green below, clinging to the edge of the Tartuvian sea. Thor looked down to see its waves crashing onto the shore. The air was warmer here.
“
Our ship is gone!” O’Connor yelled behind him, and Thor looked down at the empty shores and realized he was right.
“
We won’t be needing that now!” Thor yelled back.
There came another roar and Thor turned to see the dragons were getting closer. They were breathing fire at them, and while it could not reach them, Thor felt an increasing sense of urgency.
“
Faster!” Thor whispered to Mycoples.
The dragon flapped even harder, lunging forward again. Thor could feel her breathing hard, exerting all the energy she had, and he hoped he was not driving her too hard. Below them passed the Tartuvian, a vast expanse of yellow and blue. It rushed by, Thor able to spot the small whitecaps of its waves, the air turning moist; as they went, they flew over a fleet of Empire ships, dotting the ocean with their huge sails. Thor saw the men, tiny from here, like ants, and watched as they all stopped their rowing and looked up in wonder at the dragon flying overhead. No doubt, these soldiers were on their way to wreak havoc on the Ring.
“
DOWN!” Thor commanded.
Mycoples dove down, right for the group of ships, and as they approached, Thor whispered: “FIRE!”
Mycoples breathed onto the sails, a steady stream of fire coming from her mouth, and as she did, one ship after the other lit up as the canvas sails caught. The huge wooden ships erupted into balls of flame, and Thor could see all the men below jumping ship, splashing into the water.
Mycoples ascended and continued flying east, towards the Ring.
Thor looked back and saw that the maneuver had cost them some of their precious lead: the dragons behind them were even closer. The plumes of black smoke from the sails had obscured their trail a bit, but Thor knew that wouldn’t last.
“
FASTER!” Thor commanded.
They lunged forward, the moisture in the air whipping them as they flew in and out of the clouds. They went so fast that Thor could hardly breathe.
Finally, on the horizon, Thor spotted the shores of the Ring. He saw the strip of beach, and saw, beyond that, the forest, and then the gaping expanse of the deep Canyon. His heart soared to have his homeland back in sight.
There came a sudden roar, and Thor felt the heat behind them and turned to see the dragons even closer, breathing fire, the flames getting so close that they nearly touched Mycoples’ tail. He saw the huge, grotesque faces of the other dragons, too close. He could smell their sulfur smell from here.
Mycoples, despite her best efforts, just didn’t have the energy to go faster. Thor knew that in just a few seconds, if they didn’t go faster, they would all be dead.
“
Please, Mycoples,” Thor whispered, “for me. Just a little bit faster. Just one last burst of speed.”
Thor felt Mycoples lurch forward, one last time, with all she had, racing them across the final stretch of Tartuvian, across the sand, the forest, and then, across the huge gaping Canyon.
Thor looked down at the Canyon from this perspective, and it took his breath away. It appeared as a huge gaping chasm in the earth, reaching to the bottom of the world, wider than he could ever imagine, as if it separated two worlds. Its swirling mist shimmered in all different colors, and Thor could feel its magical energy as they flew over it.
As the Canyon flew by beneath them and they finally reached its edge, crossing the threshold into the Ring, Thor felt the Destiny Sword vibrate in his hand. He held it high, and as he did, he sensed an invisible wall suddenly seal up behind them.
The Shield, he realized. The Sword had been returned, and the Shield was restored.
Thor looked back and behind them, the army of dragons, so close, breathed another stream of fire. Thor braced himself, realizing they were about to be engulfed in the flames.
But as they crossed into the Ring and the shield went up, the flames hit the invisible wall, just feet behind them, and stopped in mid-air. The dragons, too, suddenly came to a grinding halt, shrieking as they smashed into the invisible shield at the edge of the Canyon. They stopped in mid-air, screaming in pain, bouncing off it.
Enraged, they circled and circled, breathing flames at the Shield. But the flames simply rolled off of it, and the dragons could not get closer. They roared in frustration, but they could not get in.
Thor and the others cheered. For the first time since this whole saga had begun, since he and the others had set out on their quest, he felt safe. They were home.
Thor reached over and smiled as he stroked Mycoples’ neck.
“
You’ve done good, my friend,” he said.
Mycoples purred in return, craning back her neck and lifting her wings. Thor knew she understood.
It all began to process in Thor’s swirling mind. They were home. They were safe. The shield was restored.
Now, it was time to find Gwendolyn.
*
It had felt like an eternity since Thor had been back in the Ring. Having no news since his departure, he wondered what had happened in his absence. With the Shield down all this time, he feared for what may have come. Was Gwendolyn still in King’s Court, he wondered? Was King’s Court safe from attack? Was Gareth still ruling, and was Gwendolyn safe from him?
Knowing how long the Shield had been down, and seeing all those fleets of Empire ships at sea, Thor assumed the worst. He feared that Andronicus had invaded. And if he had, he figured the first place he would attack would be King’s Court. Thor only hoped that Gwendolyn was still safe inside.
Thor directed Mycoples across the familiar countryside of the Ring, heading towards King’s Court. As they flew, he appreciated his landscape from a whole new perspective. He noticed many familiar landmarks, and he felt so happy to be home. He prayed he never had to leave its borders again.
As they passed over a hill, King’s Court came into view. Thor had been anticipating seeing it with excitement. But when they saw it, his heart plummeted.
What was once the glorious King’s Court, the most magical and impregnable place in the world, was now just a hull, an empty burn-out shell of rubble, completely burned down to the ground. Its walls remained intact, though even these were charred and sections crumbling. Its gates were torn off and the statues and banners of the MacGils had all been toppled. In their stead, Thor’s heart sank to see, was instead a huge statue of Andronicus. And the banner of the Empire.
As they neared, Thor realized that there were no MacGil soldiers or citizens to be found. Just Empire soldiers, everywhere. Clearly, King’s Court had been sacked, and it was now an occupied city.
Thor was speechless. King’s Court. The bastion of strength of the entire Ring. Destroyed. How did that bode for the rest of the Ring? Thor did not want to admit it, but clearly, that could only mean one thing: they had been defeated in his absence. And Gwendolyn and the others had, most likely, been captured. Or worse, killed.
Thor knew Andronicus’ reputation for savagery, and he broke down inside at the thought of anything happening to Gwen. He shut his eyes and tried to force the idea out of his mind; but a part of him already had a sinking feeling. Had Gwen died in the attack on King’s Court? Was she down there somewhere? And if not, if Andronicus had wreaked that much destruction on King’s Court, what other part of the Ring could be safe?
Thor whispered to Mycoples and she dove down to take a closer look. Thor directed her to the camp of Empire soldiers, occupying the city. As they descended, hundreds of Andronicus’ men occupying King’s Gate all turned and looked up. As they spotted the dragon, their faces all froze in fear.
They turned and tried to run, but there was nowhere for them to go. Mycoples breathed fire, and within moments, hundreds of them lay dead.
It was a small vindication for Thor. At least he had killed these men who had dared to occupy this sacred city. But what mattered most was that he find Gwendolyn alive, and unhurt.
They swooped down low and circled the city again and again. But nowhere were there any signs of humanity. It seemed as if everyone who had once been here was dead or gone. Thor wanted to touch down and look for her, but he knew it was pointless until they found some sign of life.
As they circled and again and again, Thor felt increasingly desperate. He did not know where Gwen could be. He started to wonder if maybe Gwen had fled King’s Court at some point and if so, he wondered where she could have gone.
There came a sudden screech, high above, and Thor looked up to see his old friend Estopheles, screeching, circling above them. She flapped her wings and screeched desperately and seemed to be trying to give Thor a message.
Thor closed his eyes and listened, and he felt as if she were urging them to follow her somewhere. Estopheles turned and flew off, and Thor told Mycoples to follow.