Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (34 page)

The wind changed as a line of dragons
rocketed up the east wall of Greenhaven and landed on the
battlements and turrets, roaring with fury.

“
About time you showed up!”
shouted Vartan, pushing his fists forward as another line of
Vampires were sent hurtling back into Greenhaven’s walls. Elven
warriors charged forward and pushed their swords deep into their
hearts.

Now is our chance to save
Marithia, with or without Talonsphere
,
thought Vartan.

The man of dragon’s blood drew his
sword and charged at Shindar, meeting his sword with his own. Their
swords found each other as they clashed with furious sparks
showering around them.

“
You!” growled Shindar,
stepping out of the way of Vartan’s sword to activate the magic
within his own and cast his spell. “
Attero
viscus pro mihi
!”

Shindar’s sword glowed as he pointed
it toward Vartan, green flames burst from its tip and sent the
prince scraping along the ground.

Vartan rolled onto his feet and winced
with the pain. He watched as his body glowed and his burns healed
immediately.

Karven landed on a nearby
parapet, narrowing his eyes toward the lord of darkness.
“
Shindaaaaar!
You
dare
step into Marithia on my watch?”

The king of dragons sent scorching
dragon’s breath toward Shindar.

“
Reptile! You stand in my
way yet again,” growled Shindar, putting his left arm in front of
him, a piece of his armour sliding out and extending to a large
shield. The fire slammed against the shield, bursting in all
directions.

Finn leapt from the wall, one of his
wings damaged from bolts, and swooped down below, breathing fire on
a line of warriors charging at Vartan’s position.

The ground shook as the gate lowered
and the Marithian army charged into Greenhaven, pouring in with
their blades held high. “For the Queen!” they screamed, bearing
down on the vampire army.

Tusdar ran as fast as he could down
the stairs, pushing the stones to open the wall and led Mestal out
the secret entrance, running toward the gorge.

A… T…. Gr…
said Kassina’s voice in their mind, disrupted by
Anakari’s spell.

“
This is cowardly, we
should fight until death! Shindar is here!” cried
Mestal.

Tusdar grabbed her and spat
out his words. “And so is the entire Marithian army, we
would
die! You don’t
understand who Vartan is and what he is capable of. We can go back
to Zhendur and build an army worthy of Shindar.”

Mestal hesitated before nodding.
“Okay.”

Clasping hands, they jumped into the
river below.

Karven breathed fire over a battlement
full of vampire archers. They dropped off the walls like flies and
rolled around the ground in an effort to put out the flames and
were quickly beheaded.

Shindar growled as he distended his
shield and returned his attention on Vartan. The boy of prophecy
tried desperately to find water in Shindar’s body but was unable to
focus on anything beneath the armour.

“
Redimio vestri viscus quod
permoveo haud magis
,” cast Shindar,
extending his hand and releasing a fiery ball within it. The ball
exploded out into a glowing net that enveloped the king of
dragons.

Karven fell to the ground, struggling
within the burning enclosure.

“
I have waited a long time
for this moment!” he shouted, charging toward Karven, raising his
sword high. The ground shook with his every step.

Andrielle activated a gem inside her
armour and its surface moulded into the shape of dragon scales. She
leapt in front of Karven and swung her sword at Shindar.

She managed to land her blow, knocking
him back toward the portal but his blade connected with her helm.
It cut a large gap into the side, blood splattering to the ground
from the wound. Dryden ran in between the lord of darkness and the
king of dragons to move the queen well out of his way.

The pounding sound of Shindar’s army
marching toward the portal was getting louder by the second. The
demon stepped back toward the portal to protect it.

“
No! Shindar’s army is
approaching!” cried Helenia.

Nymira landed near the last crossbow
and crushed it with her tail, flicking out her spikes at its tip
and pounding it into a nearby warrior, watching them turn to dust.
The dragon queen charged toward Shindar, swinging her tail into his
side and knocking him off balance. Unleashing her own dragon’s
breath, Shindar again extended his shield toward his
right.

“
Vartan, whatever you can
do, do it now! You are our only chance,” cried Nymira.

His heart pounding and watching in
slow motion as Shindar began to distend his shield, Vartan panicked
as he struggled for any ideas on how to entrap the lord of
darkness. Expanding his focus, his powers pulsed through his body
as he felt the water in everything surrounding him. Pointing toward
one of the last remaining legions of vampires fighting for their
lives, he pulled them toward him and watched their bodies fly
through the air in his direction.

Screaming with the power surging
through his veins and almost bursting through his skin, he narrowed
his eyes and pushed his fists toward the incoming
bodies.

Shindar turned to watch as a group of
vampires hit him with immense force. He screamed as his body was
sent roughly through the portal, his sword’s hilt crashed through
one section of the rings, breaking the portal into
pieces.

As the light diminished on top of the
broken portal, their minds filled with the growl of Shindar’s
fury.

Makya turned away from Greenhaven and
stepped outside the gates to see a figure standing on the other
side of the bridge near a horse made of bones, she was tall with
dark boots and her hooded cloak flickered in the wind. An army of
skeleton warriors were far behind her, awaiting her orders. Her
eyes glowed white with power and rage. Her gaze landed on the
trader and then behind him at the downed portal and the battle
within Greenhaven. It was clear to her that the last remaining
vampires would soon be defeated.

Makya held his blades by his side and
stared her down, respectfully bowing at the warrior before
him.

She nodded and flicked her wrists,
releasing two long blades that slid out into her hands.

Makya charged at her position and her
hood fell behind her head as she ran to meet him in the middle, her
pearly fangs extended with the excitement of battle.

The trader fought with strength,
blocking her blades and landing kicks to her ribs, pushing her
backwards.

She growled as she flipped backwards
through the air, digging her blades deep into the ground and using
them as leverage before landing on one knee and flicking her arms
out with frightening speed.

Makya heard the ringing sound of the
silver daggers flying through the air and used his swords to block
both of them, the daggers falling to the ground beside
him.

He laughed and said, “Is that all
you’ve got, Sorceress?”

She stood and pulled her blades from
the ground while staring at his stomach.

Makya’s adrenaline subsided as he felt
the scorching pain within his abdomen and looked down to see the
shiny silver extending from his stomach.

“
Yes, that
is
all I’ve got,” she
snarled, readying for another attack. Looking over his shoulder
again and saw that only a few vampires remained and Dryden was
coming their way. Kassina grimaced before she covered her head,
sheathed her swords and mounted her horse, disappearing into the
night.

The last vampire was run through by
Vartan’s hands as a singed Karven, his wings emitting smoke from
the burns landed on Greenhaven‘s ground with Helenia on his back,
one hand holding the dragon’s flag to her side. She dismounted and
handed it to Andrielle, who climbed on top of a large pile of dead
vampires and raised it high.

“
Victory!” she
cried.

Andrielle’s salty tears of joy stung
as they streamed into an open wound on her left cheek and her blood
dripped from her chin.

The army raised their swords and
chanted, “Victory! Victory! Victory!”

Vartan embraced Helenia in elation
before turning to look at the many dead elves and men who
sacrificed themselves for their victory. Turning toward the lowered
bridge, he saw Dryden aiding a limping Makya who clutched his
stomach, the blood escaping through his armour.

“
No! Makya! We need a
healer!” shouted Vartan.