Fate Rides Wicked: Volume I of the Lerilon Trilogy (11 page)

Leaping to his feet, he grabbed the handle and energy
coursed down it into the beast. Then he pulled the blade
free and backed away. Looking around he saw Lendril
locked in combat, exchanging blows with the last demon.
With a battle cry he ran to help. His last opponent
exploded, but he had run too far to be harmed.

Lendril had first placed a bolt in her opponent, and then
charged with her axe. She landed a few blows then took a
claw in the side. It dented her armor and bruised her, but
the steel immediately reshaped itself. Since then, two other
hits by the demon had hurt her worse, one of them causing
a break in the armor and drawing blood. Until Tych
shouted to her, she failed to notice that her retreat led her to
the burning part of the lawn and she now stood in a circle
of flame. She parried and ducked an attack, then began to
swing repeatedly, driving the demon back with each blow,
whether it hit him or not.

Tych watched this as he tried to get around the flame,
and then yelled for her to step back. The demon howled
with surprise as claws grabbed it and swept it into the air at
the moment it thought the advantage had returned to him.
Doleof sped towards the woods, reaching the speed of
sound quickly, and released the demon into the trees. A
branch speared it and it died in a huge explosion. Doleof
teleported himself, moments before also slamming into the
trees, and appeared next to Tych.

Lendril looked for a way out of the flame but saw none.
Doleof ambled over and laid his body over the flame,
smothering it on one side, then slid around like a snake
until no fire remained. He stood up to see Tych and
Lendril hugging in relief. “Can’t harm my scales,” said the
dragon.

With a blur he changed into a man, this time with silver
skin so that he looked like an endaril. “This is the peace
you’ll get from Rangdor. Understand that while you may
not want to believe or follow prophesies, Rangdor takes
them very seriously. He would like nothing better than to
see the end of you.” Doleof stopped just in front of them.

Tych took a deep breath, resigning himself to his fate.
“Come into the hut. We’ll talk in the living room after I
treat Lendril’s wounds.”

Rangdor hovered in the midst of close to a hundred
winged creatures, from insects to demons. He talked to
them in simple psychic commands. He communicated this
to them: find the endaril, gather as much information as
you can and return to me.

Then he turned his attention to the demons and spoke
aloud. “If you have the advantage, kill him. Otherwise,
break up his group, cause havoc and make life miserable
for him. He must die before the Council of Thirteen
meets.”

“What is the Council?” asked a giant, horned demon
with four arms and wings.

“Fool, read your prophesies. ‘When all thirteen human
kings meet, The power of the One will grow, And the end
of the Evil in the north, The continent of Li will know.’
I’m the evil in the north, Fairy.” He loved watching them
grimace at this name. “If he lives to see all thirteen kings
meet, the prophecy will be completed.”

The demon still questioned it. “Why don’t you stop the
prophecy and go kill him yourself? And are you so weak
that a mere mortal could kill you?”

Rangdor’s rage showed, as his eyes grew bigger. “He
is no mortal and he is not pure endaril. His roots are more
ancient than either of his parents. You, however, will never
meet him.”

“No!” screamed the demon as a bolt of red energy
struck him in the head and he exploded. Rangdor’s eyes
sped around the room. “Have any of my other minions
decided to die.” No sound came from any of them. “I want
the two kleftek demons to stay, the rest can leave.”

A flurry of wings filled the cavern with noise, then only
two demons, no taller than Tych’s legs but with powerful
wings and powerful spells, remained. Rangdor floated up
to them. “Go to the xadineft and forangen and tell them to
march north. Tell the commanders that I want them here
by winter or they will die. Tell all of them this except the
forces controlled by Lord Damarin. I want that human
scum to send his forces against the city of Crentin, in the
north of the Kingdom of Polentair. There our prize will be
drawn, and maybe catch an arrow in his head. Go! Go do
as I have ordered.” Rangdor turned and sped to an
especially dark corner as the demons raced up a tunnel.

“You are no ordinary endaril, but this you know.”
Doleof sat opposite Lendril on the couch while Tych paced
in front of them. Lendril had removed the breastplate to
her armor and had her wounds bandaged by Tych. “In fact,
you are only endaril first, because you were born to
endarils. The other part of you will reveal itself as you
discover your abilities.”

“Fine. What is my destiny?” Tych had returned to his
childhood stoicism, taking the news of his duality lightly.

“To defeat Rangdor and rule Li.” Doleof paused for
this to sink in, but Tych just nodded. “To do this, you are
destined to unite the thirteen human kingdoms into one
army and march on Rangdor.”

“An endaril could never rule humans. Besides, I would
only destroy the castle every time the energy broke free in
my mind.”

Lendril listened quietly as Doleof continued. “The first
step is to see an endarilan wizard. He has been waiting as a
captive for you to appear. He will think of it as passing his
powers on, but what he will do is more of a process of
placing a pattern on your brain. When he is finished, you
will be a wizard also.”

“It is impossible to be both wizard and warrior,
dragon.” Tych stared at Doleof.

“It would be wise to treat me with more respect, young
one. I have been on this planet for over three thousand
years. I was your age when the dragon wars, started by
endarils, claimed my parents and left me orphaned.”
Doleof stood and stopped Tych’s pacing with his hand.
“Do you hear me?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. Please continue.”

“If you wish to gain control over the energies, you need
to master the skills of magic. The powers of your mind
will reveal themselves as you use it and it will teach you
how to regulate the flow of energy to your advantage in
combat as a warrior. Only you can be both.”

“Where do I find this magician?”

“He is a captive of Lord Damarin, in a magic cell which
prevents him from casting. This lord lives three days from
here to the west, just north of the city of Crentin. Defeat
him and free the magician.”

“Sounds easy enough. When do we leave?”

“You and Lendril will meet friends of mine tomorrow,
pemilons who will provide you with horses. Their forest
friends will open a path in the woods for you to follow. I
warn you, his army of forangen guards Damarin’s castle.
You will be informed of their movements as you near the
end of the trees.”

“Is that all I need to know?” Tych smiled wryly.

“No, there is one last thing. Take Damarin’s sword but
keep yours with you at all times. The time will come when
you know what to do with it. You should be able to
quickly discover the powers of the lord’s sword by using it
in battle. Never use your old one to fight again after
Damarin’s blade is yours.”

“I will do as you say.” Doleof headed for the bedroom
to go down the trap door. “Wait. Does the prophecy say I
become king?”

Doleof paused at the curtain for a moment as if
thinking. “No, I guessed that would happen from what the
prophecy does say. No prophet, rare as they are, has been
able to see past the defeat of Rangdor. It is as if there is no
clear future beyond it. It will be yours to mold.” Quickly,
he stepped through. The endarils heard the trap door
squeak then slam closed.

Tych stared at the curtain until Lendril’s hand touched
his shoulder. “Your hand is a lighter burden than the one I
now carry on these shoulders. Hold me.” Lendril stepped
around and wrapped him in her arms. He kissed her
passionately on the lips. She stepped away, took his hand,
and led him to the bedroom.

In his sleep, Tych heard a soft rapping sound in the
distance. He rolled over and stirred a bit, then sat up ready
to jump to battle. A knock rang through the hut. Her
wounds still healing, he glanced at Lendril sleeping next to
him, the combat of the previous day having worn her to the
point of exhaustion. It didn’t help either that they had
made love long into the night with incredible passion.

Tych swung his legs out of bed and went through the
curtain on the right into the kitchen. Checking his senses to
discover if evil energy lurked nearby, he opened the door.
Standing there, with little forest animals playing around
him, a pemilon looked down at him. “Hello, I am
Flandroke. You must be Tych.”

“Yes, I am the Prince of the Endarils. Pleased to meet
you. What brings you here?” The endaril looked upon a
combination of horse and human. The creature had the
body of a horse, with four legs and hooves, but instead of a
horse’s neck and head, a human torso sat on its shoulders.
A human head and arms were where they normally would
be on the torso.

Flandroke had a long spear, taller than Tych, tied to his
right side and a mace hung from a belt where human met
horse. His eyes reflected the chestnut brown of his
horsehair. “Doleof told us you would know of our coming.
We bring horses and help in reaching Lord Damarin.”

Suddenly, Tych remembered. “You’re here a little
early aren’t you?”

“The sun is well past zenith. If I’m not being too
forward, its no wonder, with how long you and your
wife...well, you know.”

“Ah, I guess the forest has eyes.” Tych rubbed the back
of his head and his nudity embarrassed him for just a
moment. “Wait here, I will wake my wife.”

Flandroke waited patiently. A few minutes passed and
Lendril came out with Tych. “She is indeed beautiful,
Prince Tych.”

“Don’t tell me, I know. Tell her.”

“As I said, Lady Lendril.” Flandroke smiled as she
blushed slightly. “Your horses are ready. The eagles will
be here soon to inform you of the movements of Lord
Damarin’s army.”

“Eagles? What part do they play?” Tych leaned on the
door jam.

“They will scout for you when necessary. In this case,
they have very interesting information to furnish to you.”

“How long?”

“They will be here in ten minutes. I will return then.
Be ready to ride right after.”

Lendril stepped into the doorway. “We’ll need more
time than that. We have to get into our armor, pack and
eat. That can’t be done in ten minutes.”

“You’ll eat as we talk. I will keep the eagles
entertained if you are late. Hurry, we waste precious time
talking.” He turned and ran into the trees, shouting, “I shall
return.”

It took them fifteen minutes before they walked through
the kitchen and paused at the door. Tych and Lendril
looked at each other for comfort, then the Prince reached
for the handle. He stopped again and, facing the door, said,
“It looks as if my destiny must begin right away.”

Lendril placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be right
here at your side, always. We must do whatever it takes to
end Rangdor’s grip on our lives.”

Tych turned the handle and the door lumbered open
towards them. “Let us meet the eagles then.”

In full battle dress, except the gloves, they walked to
the eastern part of the lawn, where a huge table sat.
Around the wooden slab stood eagles, pemilons and sprites.
Food weighed down on its center. As the two warriors
approached, the pemilons and the smaller eagles came to
attention. Two eagles merely turned and looked at the
endarils curiously.

Lendril and Tych sat down in the two chairs for them
and waited nervously for somebody to begin the
proceedings. Tych sat looking down at the table,
completely uncomfortable in the presence of the majestic
eagles. Flandroke grunted and the endarilan Prince raised
his head, only to see the pemilon and everybody else
looking right at him.

The Prince seemed dumbfounded as to what to do. He
noticed the small feathers around the eagles’ eyes stand up
and anger seemed to flare up deep in the recesses of their
pupils. Flandroke turned to the largest eagle, sensing
Tych’s dilemma. “If you will excuse me, Lord, I would
talk with the endaril for a moment.”

“Make it hasty, Flandroke, I cannot wait long.” The
deep resonance of the Lord of the Eagle’s voice had a
quality that at once soothed and stirred the soul.

Flandroke took Tych by his shoulder as he stood and
led him out of hearing range of the table. “Do you not
know what is expected of you?”

“In the Hidden Kingdom, I learned that those who
know the most speak first so that the others may not be
embarrassed. What am I to do here?”

“Ah, I see your problem. The eagles require that the
participants most involved in the outcome of the meeting
state their name, rank and reason for being there so that the
others can be as informative as possible. Do you
understand?” Tych nodded. “Good, let’s try this again.”

They returned to the table, the endaril taking his spot
across from Flandroke. After a pause, he began. “Thank
you, Lord, for your patience. I am Prince Tych di Corl of
the endarils, and I am here to learn of the task that faces
me. I do so in the hopes of preparing and with no thoughts
of rejecting its goals.”

A voice said, from out of the trees, “So you have
chosen to take up the sword, my new friend.” Doleof came
striding towards the table in the shape of man with dark
skin, arms enfolded. “You learn quickly the conventions of
the eagles. Let us hope that your aptitude continues when
dealing with humans.”