A Dragon Born (30 page)

The horn sounded the attack and Quenta spurred his horse forward, leading the charge toward the row of catapults. There would be no point in battling the enemy if the people inside the city were killed by the blasts of mage fire being thrown by the giant wooden machines. The elves raced toward their target, but Quenta saw a dark mass of enemies moving toward him faster than the other soldiers and he recognized the Darga. They were led by one who did not share their shape, but had the same essence about him and Quenta surmised that this must be the half-Darga that Boric had mentioned. He ordered a group of his elves to continue on toward the catapults and turned to face the oncoming Darga.

They clashed in a mass of scales, swords and horseflesh, the Darga almost as powerful as the elven mounts and their claws slashing with blinding speed at the mounted elves. Quenta felt his horse dying beneath him and, feeling a moment's sorrow for the beast, he leapt from his saddle and landed amid a sea of lizards. With fast, powerful slashes of his sword, the elven prince attacked, cutting limbs from the creatures with a speed and ferocity that few could match. He glanced at the other elves and could see that a group of them had managed to keep their mounts, breaking away from the mass of enemies and they were now circling around, harassing the edge of the Darga, who were focused on those that had lost their mounts. Quenta smashed the pommel of his sword into a Darga face then cut through another one as he leapt forward, nimbly avoiding the slashing claws and swords that lashed out at him. It appeared that some of the Darga had taken to using swords, but it mattered little to the elven prince for neither could touch him.

A blade appeared, moving faster than the rest and Quenta found himself facing the half-Darga leader of the lizard men. They clashed with one another, blade to blade, each moving at blinding speed, with powerful strokes and dexterity to match. Quenta was impressed with the half-Darga, though he was repulsed by the idea of what the creature was. To him, the mixing of bloodlines was an abomination, so much so that he could barely tolerate his own cousin, and this creature was worse, half animal and twice as deadly.

"I see the tree people are quick on their feet," Draxis commented.

"The animal speaks," Quenta said. "My horse can do many tricks as well."

"Your horse is dead," Draxis replied. "The dead trick no one, though they do not hide behind masks. Are you so ugly that you are afraid to show your face?"

"If that were the purpose of this mask, I might offer to lend you one" Quenta told him. "I thought your lizard brothers were vile to behold, but you are the most repulsive creature I have ever encountered."

"You will pay for that, elf," Draxis snarled.

"I think not," Quenta said and leapt at the half-Darga.

Quenta's sword cut at Draxis, moving in a blur of strikes, the unnatural sharpness of its elven steel easily cutting through the half-Darga's armor and the scales on his arms. Draxis moved his blade as quickly as he could, blocking and dodging the sword but he could barely keep up with the elf. He tried to shift to the attack but the elf was already countering him and driving him back, but he had the elf at a disadvantage, for he was surrounded by Darga and they all now pressed toward him.

Quenta felt the lizard men closing in on him and he leapt from the ground, high into the air and away from their slashing claws and steel. As he sailed through the air, he could see a number of his elves being overwhelmed by the much greater numbers of the Darga. From a pocket in his leathers, Quenta pulled a small horn that was almost a whistle and blew a note as he fell toward the ground. He replaced the horn and swung his sword at the lizard men beneath him. The Darga separated as he attacked and Quenta saw his elves leap over the heads of the enemy. He slashed at a few more Darga then leapt away from them, putting more distance between himself and the half-Darga who was pushing his way through his own warriors, determined to catch his chosen opponent, which Quenta found interesting.

The elves who had lost their mounts gathered at the edge of the Darga lines and, as the creatures swarmed toward them, the elves who were still mounted rode past and those who were now on foot swung themselves up onto the backs of the horses, riding behind their brethren.

"Prince Quenta, why did you sound the retreat?" asked the elf who rode in front of the Elven prince.

"Prudence," Quenta said. "These Darga are more powerful and greater in number than I expected, but they are not yet our target. Our priority is to destroy those war machines. Once we have completed that task, we can kill the lizard men at our leisure."

Draxis and his Darga warriors ran after the elves as they raced toward the catapults, but the ground beneath their feet began to shift and change as the short grasses began to grow longer, making it difficult to move quickly. Draxis smelled magic in the air, and it had the same scent as the elf he had fought. He leapt forward, jumping instead of trying to run on the shifting ground and he pulled ahead of the Darga, who were slowed down by it. Draxis knew he could not run as fast as the elven horses, but he knew they would not be going far and he desperately wanted to fight the elf in the silver mask, almost as much as he wanted to kill the Kandaran duke.

*****

Inside the city walls, Ariana, along with Margo, Keira and a number of the Queen's Guard had taken charge of evacuating the people from the portion of the city that was being hit the most by the magical attacks. At first, the Kandarans were afraid of being out in the open, but once they arrived at the city gardens, they were amazed at what they saw. The elves had found fewer trees than they had hoped for, but there were enough and those that were able used their magic to coax them into growing larger, while others spread vines throughout the branches, creating thick, green canopies that sheltered the hundreds of people who had gathered in the open space, away from the buildings.

Several of the elves were able to work with water and Ariana remembered what King Eric had told her about her power so she asked one of them to instruct her how to help them. Together, they created fountains from the small ponds in the garden and nearby wells, that shot streams of water into the sky to protect the trees from catching fire and to dissipate the blasts of magic that came crashing down from the sky. They had just completed the water barrier when the magical blasts suddenly stopped.

"Boric and the elves must have stopped the catapults," Ariana said, relieved.

"Duke Boric is powerful, and no doubt the elves are very effective, but they could not have destroyed that many catapults so quickly. It has to be something else," Margo said.

She walked out of the city gardens and gazed down the long, cobbled street in the direction of the city gate as something else came flying over the wall, and smashed onto the roof of a nearby building.

"What is that?" Keira asked in near disbelief, then she realized what the catapults were now throwing into the city. "What is the purpose of doing such a thing?"

Ariana looked at the sky that was beginning to turn an ugly red as the sun approached the horizon and she was enraged. Maramyrian soldiers were tumbling through the air and smashing into buildings and landing hard upon the stone street. What she saw next turned her stomach and she felt a knot of fear deep within her. The bodies of the soldiers, many of them twisted in unnatural ways from their impact and others with their heads smashed open began to move. It was as though they had risen from bed as they slowly pushed themselves to their feet and stretched, then began pushing their shoulders back into joint and tearing fabric from their clothes to bind split bones in their arms and legs. The ones who had risen with their limbs intact, drew their swords and began advancing through the streets, ready to attack.

"What has he done?" Ariana whispered, mortified by what she was seeing. As the soldiers began running up the street toward them, she snapped out of her shock. "Keira, we need to close off the gardens and keep them out!"

"Yes, princess," Keira said and she and the elves quickly used their power to grow thickets and branches around the garden where hundreds of Kandarans were gathered.

Ariana began unleashing mage fire at the soldiers, but they just kept coming, even though they were on fire.

"Don't use fire," Keira yelled. "If they reach the thickets, they could set it alight." Ariana knew she was right, fire would only make things worse. The fountains they had created were meant to stop attacks of fire from the sky, not burning soldiers running along the ground and there was not enough time to reposition them and create a tree barrier at the same time.

"It looks like we will have to fight them," Ariana said, drawing her sword as the first few soldiers approached.

They encountered Margo first and Ariana marveled when she saw the woman dance through them with her sword and dagger. She hit three of them with heavy blows, cutting a deep gash into the neck of one, stabbing another in the stomach and cutting off the sword hand of the other. The three soldiers fell to the ground the, a moment later, as though nothing had happened, they pushed themselves to their feet and began to attack again.

"Something is wrong with them," Margo yelled as she defended herself from the three soldiers, cutting them down again, while dozens more came running up the street. "They won't die."

Ariana looked back at the wooden barrier and she could see that Keira and the elves were almost finished making sure it was secure. She searched the cobblestones at her feet and saw a small patch of green between two of them, a small weed and she crouched down and touched it, sensing its roots and hoping it might be connected to others like it. The weed was part of a network that ran underneath the stones for a good length of the street and she channeled her power into it and, in turn, used it to seek out other life. The root system also touched a patch of ivy that grew on the side of one of the buildings and she sent her power to it as well.

"Get back!" Ariana yelled.

Margo slashed at one of the soldiers and blocked the sword of another, then glanced back at Ariana then she realized what the princess was doing and she broke free and retreated a short distance. Within a few moments the street grew thick with weeds and their roots began to tangle around the feet of the dead soldiers, slowing them down. The vines from the wall of the building reached out and began encircling their arms and legs, filling the street and stopping them. Ariana let go of the plant and caught her breath, realizing she was growing tired and that the faster she tried to make things grow, the more of her power was required.

Ariana turned in panic as she heard the clash of steel and the sound of hoofbeats on the cobbles from an adjacent street. The late afternoon sun was beginning to fade and the side street was already dim but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Elric and a group of Kandaran soldiers emerge from the shadows and ride toward her. The young king dismounted and walked toward them.

"When we saw the dead soldiers getting up and moving around, we thought you might need assistance," Elric said. He looked at the thicket that surrounded the large city garden and saw many people gathered inside. "Fear not, my people. The city is protected by fierce warriors of Kandara, the Guard of Elvanar and the loyal soldiers of Maramyr who now fight for their rightful ruler, Queen Ariana." He reached out to Ariana. "It would help calm the people if you would let them see you."

Ariana saw several of the people behind the crisscrossed branches venture forward, staring at her.

"Is it true?" an old man asked. "You are alive." He smiled.

Ariana slid her mask to the side, so they could see her.

"Many of you do not know me," she said. "I am Ariana Coromyr, the rightful Queen of Maramyr. My uncle, Cerric and the dark mages of the priesthood attempted to have me killed so my uncle could take the throne. This crime has been blamed on the peaceful kingdom of Kandara, and for that injustice, I am truly sorry. I have said this to your king, and I say this to you, the people of Kandara. I have brought with me the Guard of Elvanar, which Queen Laurana has sent to your aid, and many of the soldiers of Maramyr who were ordered to attack your land now defend this city. We, along with your brave leaders, the nobles of House Akandra do battle against my uncle's army and the Xallan Queen, to defend your lives."

"Queen Ariana," said an elderly woman. "I saw the old king and queen of Maramyr once. They were friends to the Kandaran people and I am glad you have come, to restore our honor."

Ariana smiled. "It is my hope that we can repair what has been done, but first we must defeat my uncle. You will be safe here." Ariana looked through the dark thicket at the people gathered in the city gardens and she raised her voice so they could all hear her. "You will all be safe here."

"Are we prisoners?" asked a man from somewhere among the people.

"No," Ariana told them. "This barrier has been created to keep you safe from the mage fire and from the enemy soldiers."

"I know how to kill them now," Margo said, walking back from the three dead soldiers whose headless bodies hung, unmoving in the vines while the others struggled to break free. "Cut off their heads."

"What are they?" Elric asked.

"They're soldiers," Ariana said then she used her power to look at them. "They are Maramyrian soldiers, but they look as though they have had some magic put upon them." Ariana gasped when she realized that behind the strange magic, there was no life energy, no aura of color, where there normally would be, even for those who were not magically gifted. "It's like they are dead."