Army of the Dead (73 page)

“Marak,” she said, “I am tired. I know that Myka is not how you expected her to be, but we have done all that we can do.”

“If you had done all that you could,” retorted the Torak, “Myka would now be complaining about the lousy conditions of her surroundings.”

“It doesn’t work that way, Marak,” Lyra said with a bit of annoyance. “You cannot just wish her better. I know how much she means to you, but she is beyond our help.”

“But she is not beyond Kaltara’s help,” countered the Torak. “Do you not remember what you did for StormSong? I heard the stories of that miraculous day. I want another one.”

“I don’t even know what I did that day,” confessed Lyra. “I cannot remember it very well, and it has never happened again. I just don’t know what more I can do.”

“You are His servant, Lyra,” Marak said imploringly. “You may not understand what happened that day, but I do, and I was not even there.”

“What are you saying?” asked Lyra.

“I want you to pray for her,” answered Marak. “You have done all that your magic is capable of, but you have forgotten who gave you that magic. All of your power emanates from Him, and you have not used that greatest power yet to help Myka.”

Lyra looked at Marak with sudden understanding. She had prayed for Myka, but not in the same way as she had with StormSong, not with the same intensity. She had relied on her use of magic to heal the dragon, even when she knew there was a greater power available for her.

“You are right,” the Star of Sakova declared. “Join me in prayer.”

“No,” replied Marak. “I have another task to do while you pray.”

“And what is that?” balked Lyra. “You have just pointed out that my failure was one of prayer, and now you refuse to do what you asked of me. What could possibly be more important?”

“You,” smiled Marak. “You are exhausted. I know that you have the power within you to heal Myka, but I will be using my power to heal you while you do Kaltara’s will. Begin.”

Lyra smiled and bowed her head in prayer. She placed both hands on the dragon’s snout and closed her eyes. Marak stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and then closed his eyes in prayer as he fed his energy into the Star of Sakova.

Princess Alastasia woke from the nap she had succumbed to. She sat up and looked around the elven camp and saw that most were still sleeping. As she sat quietly trying to wake up, she noticed that most of the missing were mages. She watched as two elven mages left the camp in the direction of the dragon’s resting place. She assumed that they were going to see if any further progress had been made. She rose and walked towards the nearest campfire to get something to eat. She noticed several other groups of mages rise and walk out of the camp. She looked for returning elves to get a progress report on the dragon, but none of the mages ever returned. Filled with curiosity, she put down her morning meal and left the camp to see for herself.

When she stepped into the large clearing, the elven princess halted in wonder. She saw Lyra kneeling next to Myka’s snout and Marak directly behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Surrounding the dragon and her two friends was a strange, mysterious glow. It was as if the three servants of Kaltara were encased in a magical, protective shield.

“This is strangely familiar,” StarWind commented.

Princess Alastasia turned and looked questioningly at the Sakovan spymaster.

“The same thing happened the day Lyra healed StormSong,” StarWind continued. “No one has ever been able to explain it to me. Much of what Lyra does is unexplainable.”

“But Marak was not there that day in the Sakova,” frowned Princess Alastasia. “What is he doing?”

“I am not sure,” responded StarWind, “but if I had to guess, I would say that he is feeding energy into Lyra. If so, he is wise indeed. After Lyra healed StormSong and the others, she was totally spent, both physically and mentally. He must know what she is doing and how it will affect her. I mean Myka is much larger than StormSong. It will take everything Lyra has to heal her.”

A look of sudden understanding came over the elven princess’s face as she nodded in agreement.

“You are wiser than you know,” chirped Princess Alastasia as she dashed away.

The Sakovan spymaster looked confused as the elven princess ran to a large group of elven mages. HawkShadow walked up behind Star Wind and hugged her.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I am just observing,” replied StarWind as she curiously watched the elven mages begin speaking excitedly. “I think MistyTrail is up to something.”

“What exactly is she up to?” asked the Sakovan assassin.

“I do not know,” admitted StarWind. “We will have to wait and see.”

They did not have long to wait. Princess Alastasia started giving orders to the elves, and the mages began gathering near the dragon’s snout. None of them touched the dragon, but hundreds of hands stretched out to touch Lyra and Marak. The Chula shamans who had also gathered to watch the strange glow must have understood what the elves were doing, because they quickly joined in, and the crowd surrounding Lyra and Marak grew until there was no more room for anyone to get near. The mages who could not personally reach the servants of Kaltara put their hands on the mages who could reach. Within moments, the strange glow spread across the whole crowd.

“They are joining in,” HawkShadow remarked. “I wonder what they are doing.”

“They are healing Lyra and Marak,” answered King Avalar as he walked up behind HawkShadow. “Those that cannot reach are healing the healers.”

“Shouldn’t you join them then?” asked StarWind.

“Not yet,” the elven king shook his head. “I do not know how long it will take for Lyra to do whatever it is she is doing, but there must be mages available to take the place of those who tire. I will form a second group to relieve the others as they grow weak.”

“So you do not know what Lyra is doing then?” asked HawkShadow.

“No,” King Avalar shook his head. “I have heard the stories of the day the Star of Sakova healed StormSong and the tent full of wounded, but I have no explanation for it. It is either a type of magic of which the elves have no comprehension, or it is something more than magic.”

“I believe it is prayer,” said a new voice.

Avalar and the Sakovans turned around and saw Rejji standing not far behind them. The Fakaran king walked forward and joined the group as they turned to stare at the mysterious glow, which was getting brighter by the minute.

“Only the power of Kaltara could account for what Lyra did in the Sakova,” the Astor continued.

“Will it work?” asked HawkShadow.

“Have you ever known Kaltara to fail?” the Astor grinned in response.

Several hours passed before the first mages began to falter from exhaustion. King Avalar immediately gathered replacement mages and began to make substitutions. It was shortly after the new mages had begun their healing that Myka’s eye sprang open. A communal gasp rose from the crowd as the dragon’s eye flicked back and forth, as if trying to determine where she was. Myka’s eye landed on Lyra and Marak, and a giant tear rolled down the dragon’s face and splattered on the two Kaltara servants when it struck the ground. Lyra and Marak opened their eyes and rose to their feet. The other mages backed slowly away, and the golden aura winked out of sight.

“How do you feel?” asked the Star of Sakova.

Smoke billowed out of the dragon’s nostrils, and her mouth opened wide to show long rows of sharp, giant teeth. Her tongue flicked out and gently pushed the Torak on the chest.

“Why did you jump?” Myka asked.

“I thought you would fight better without me,” admitted Marak. “I am sorry for leaving you. I will never cause you tears again. I promise.”

“What?” quipped the dragon. “Do not presume that tear was for the two of you saving my life. I just have a problem with my eye. In fact,” she grinned, “I think I may have human fingerprints on my eyelid. That must have been the problem.”

“It is good to have you back again,” grinned Marak. “How do you feel? Is everything working as it should?”

“She needs time,” interrupted Lyra.

The winged warrior looked around carefully before rising to her feet. The mages quickly moved back further as the giant dragon flexed her muscles.

“I have never felt better,” Myka declared. “I guess it helps having hundreds of personal healers. I owe all of you a debt of gratitude.”

“You owe us nothing,” smiled Lyra. “You are Kaltara’s gift to us. It is our duty to do what we can to keep you safe. Are you sure that everything is working well?”

Myka turned around in the clearing and belched long fingers of flame along the path of destruction.

“If everyone will give me some room,” answered Myka, “I will go aloft and find out.”

The mages scattered, taking shelter well away from the trail of broken trees. Lyra frowned and started to object, but Marak smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Let her do what she was born to do,” he said softly. “We must be sure that she is fit for battle.”

The dragon leaped into the air and soared into the sky. Marak raced for the edge of the forest as he kept his eyes skyward to observe the dragon in flight. He lost sight of her for a short time, but when he reached the plain he saw the dragon doing aerobatics above him. Myka noticed the lone figure below and swooped down on him. Flames preceded her arrival, and Marak felt their warmth. He knew that Myka wanted him to feel threatened, but he held his ground. He knew that Myka would never hurt him. The dragon landed gently in front of him.

“You did not even flinch,” Myka said with disappointment.

“I know you too well,” smiled the Torak.

“Not as well as you think you do,” retorted the dragon. “There is no need for you to feel as though you have failed me. Your jumping probably saved both of our lives, but I will not let you ride me again until the other three demons are defeated. I was wrong to endanger the Torak. I should have refused to take you up in the first place.”

“That is where you are wrong,” countered the Torak. “I am meant to use what Kaltara has offered me, and that includes you. You are my winged warrior.”

“Not while demons live and breath,” the dragon shook her massive head. “There are three of them left, and I will defeat them all.”

“We will defeat them all,” grinned the Torak. “We are a team.”

“We have been through this already,” replied Myka. “Your magic is useless against them.”

“That may be,” countered Marak, “but the Sword of Torak is not. You see,” he added, “I should have used it instead of jumping clear. Together we could have killed them without both of us nearly dying.”

“Your sword?” questioned the dragon. “You presume a great deal.”

“I presume nothing,” asserted Marak, “and it is not my sword. It is Kaltara’s sword. I tested it on the carcass of the last demon you killed. Lyra’s rapier works as well. Both sliced through the flesh of the carcass.”

“Amazing,” the stunned dragon said. “And together we failed to realize this?”

“Kaltara never said we were smart,” grinned the Torak.

The dragon bellowed with laughter and people gathered at the edge of the forest to see what was happening. Myka looked past Marak and saw the hundreds of faces watching with curiosity.

“How long have I postponed the battle?” she asked.

“Only a day,” answered Marak. “The good part about that is that Vand will think you are dead.”

“Not for long,” snarled Myka. “I still have work to do.”

“You do indeed,” nodded the Torak, “but not just yet. As soon as you show up, those three demons will come straight for you. Why not wait until Vand tries to use them for another task and take them by surprise?”

“I like surprises,” murmured the dragon, “but what difference will it make how we meet them? Why not circle the temple and dare them to come out and play?”

“Two demons nearly killed you,” answered Marak. “Why face three at once unless you have to?”

“Maybe they will come out one at a time,” posed the dragon.

“Possibly,” admitted Marak, “but that did not happen yesterday. I think Vand might have observed what happened to Barrok and made the other two join against you. If he finds out that you are alive, he will surely send all three at once. He will not allow their pride to interfere.”

“Alright,” conceded Myka. “How do you plan to separate them?”

“By giving him another reason to use the creatures,” answered the Khadoran Emperor. “You should rest here the remainder of the day while I send everyone else to their places. After they are gone, I will explain the plan to you.”

“That will give me time to find something to eat,” agreed the dragon. “I am famished.”

* * *

After the sun went down that night Rejji ordered the Fakaran horsemen to new locations. They were ordered not to light any new campfires, but they were not told the reason why. The free tribes were split in two with a large gap between their forces. The Jiadin were moved further to the south leaving another large gap in the eastern lines. Unseen by the Fakaran horsemen, or their horses, were four long columns of dark creatures moving slowly towards the Motangan defensive lines. Two columns of tyriks moved around the ends of the Fakarans. When they had crossed the desolate no man’s land, the tyriks began spinning their webs.

While the giant spiders were creating their fence around the skeletons, two more columns of tyriks passed through the two new gaps in the Fakaran lines. The new columns were meant to separate the skeleton creatures from the hellsoul warriors and the temple, leaving the entire skeleton army divided into two totally enclosed areas from which they could not escape.

While the outermost columns of tyriks proceeded unnoticed by anyone, the inner columns had to carve a path through the skeletons. The dead creatures swarmed to interdict the giant spiders, but their swords were useless. The tyriks batted the skeletons aside and spun webs to contain them. The skeletons could not cry out in alarm, but the tyriks eventually ran into Tzargo’s hellsouls. At first only the Motangan sentries noticed the large black shapes moving between them and the skeleton army. The tyriks quickly immobilized the sentries by injecting them with poison and then wrapping them in small webs and leaving them behind, but their stealth could not be maintained forever.