Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere (23 page)

Every enemy he killed seemed to further bottle the pain inside of him.

“I’m here, my queen,” he said.

“About time!”

His eyes glowed blue as Mazu’s powers returned to him. Blinking momentarily, he tried to focus on the water running through their bodies, but there were too many elves among the vampires. It was a complete mess, and there was no way to focus solely on their enemies. He had to do something to turn this tide.

Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes and focused on one vampire at a time. Keeping one in his sights, he boiled the vampire’s fluids, taking pleasure in the agony he caused until the vampire exploded.

Vartan stumbled when the ground rumbled beneath him. Balancing himself, his face paled as he cried out to the queen. She couldn’t hear him or was too distracted to notice. Surrounding elves fought for their lives, and some turned to Vartan for instructions.

He looked to direct the nearest ally but as he opened his mouth to speak, a cannonball tore through the elf’s face, leaving the twitching body to plummet to the ground.

Fuck.

“There are too many! We can’t hold this. Get everyone off the walls. They’re about to fall!” he said, ducking as another cannonball ripped through the air, pounding into a building below them.

Helenia, where are you? Tell me you still live.

Vartan pulled his arm out of the shield’s leather strap, swinging it through the air by its edge, dispatching two attacking vampires, swinging his sword upward to block another’s sword. Helenia’s voice was not coming, and he felt another twist in his chest. His eyes watered at the thought of his wife, and the vision of battle blurred.

In his moment of weakness, he thought back to the flowing waters of Mother Dragon’s statue at Weeping Falls.

His body filled with magic as he kicked a vampire over the parapets, sending it falling to the ocean below.

Mother Dragon, we need your help.

He saw a feint light along the wall and brought his arm up to see that his entire body glowed within his armour.

His ears filled with the most joyful of voices, but his heart sank further when Helenia’s was not among them.
You have summoned me, but I cannot always answer your call or stay in your world for long.

Vartan watched the remaining elves follow his instructions and flee the walls, joining the archers within Greenhaven’s streets and leaving him to deal with the onslaught of vampires.

He turned to the readied archers and yelled, “Release, now!”

The elves followed his order and shot their fiery arrows as Vartan dropped to the ground to avoid being hit. The arrows hit their targets and vampires were knocked off the walls.

It’s not going to kill them, but it will buy us time
, he thought.

“Hold your fire!” Vartan said, seeing a blood-soaked Dryden climb over the parapets. Yuski and Anakari emerged from the stairs below and stood by his side. He wondered where they had gotten to, shamefully realising the amount of time he had allowed his emotions to muddle his thoughts.

He nodded to his companions and spoke as spirited as he could. “Glad to see you all.”

The wall swayed and rumbled far beneath his feet. That could only mean one thing. “Get off the wall!”

He knew that the wall coming down would be the beginning of the end for Greenhaven. Once those cannons had nothing to stop them, it would only be a matter of time. If he was going to die, then he would take as many of them as he could.

“We live together, fight together, and die together, Vartan. We will not leave your side,” Anakari said. The others nodded, readying their weapons.

Vartan stood and readied his shield and sword. No vampires came over the wall. The sound of cannons continued, as did the distant screams on the seas. He marched to the parapets and saw it. A giant version of Mother Dragon flew over the pirate ships, her entire body made of water. The pirates continued firing their cannons, but changed their targets. The cannonballs tore through Mother Dragon’s watery body with no effect. The pirates screamed as her giant tail swung over the ocean, resulting in an enormous wave engulfing the ships. She appeared to breathe dragon’s breath, but instead of fire, the water burst upward around her and tore the ships apart.

His vision shook, and he blinked his eyes furiously. The cost of expended magic to bring Mother Dragon into battle had been one he could barely afford. He tried to awaken the powers of Mazu, but his vision flickered. He may have been stripped of magic, but his body could continue.

Vartan looked over the parapets and his face paled as thoughts of Helenia flooded his mind. He called out to his companions, “Whoever was here has already fled, but Greenhaven was almost lost.”

“How did we,” Yuski said, “Never mind. It was you, wasn’t it?”

Mother Dragon shrieked as she turned to Vartan and then dissipated into the ocean, raining down on the destroyed ships

Goodbye, Great Mother. Until we meet again
, he thought.

Vartan’s face twisted as a memory of Helenia’s face flashed into his mind. He turned away and his breathing stiffened. He knew he didn’t have time to grieve, but the pain was too great.

Come on. Keep it together a little longer.

Anakari approached him and lowered her voice. “Vartan, are you alright?”

He turned toward Greenhaven’s inhabitants with a crooked smiled, raising his sword in the air. “Victory is ours!”

Greenhaven erupted in cheers.

Thank you, Mother Dragon, you saved us all.

No Vartan, you saved them. I only lent you my strength and image, but it was your bravery that sculpted a weapon. I feel the pain inside you. Do not let it destroy you. We shall meet again
, Mother Dragon’s voice said, trailing away in his mind.

Vartan sheathed his sword, retrieving a dropped bow, and ripped out an arrow from a dead elf’s quiver. As he took aim on the pirates below, his companions followed suit and joined him. Vartan felt his gloves vibrating heavily and glowing blue. He released his arrow, watching through wide eyes as the sky glowed aqua. A rain of glowing shards fell onto his targeted area. The magic arrows shredded their way through pirates’ flesh, and fell into the sea.

So, that’s what these gloves do.

“Vartan! You never cease to surprise me,” Dryden said.

The prince brought his hands to his face and watched the blue glow disappear.

“You and me both. Kill every last one of them. They took Helenia from our world,” Vartan said, clenching his jaw in an effort to hold back his tears.

I love you, Helenia, and my heart is forever yours.

The prince leapt in the air as Helenia’s voice rang in his mind like a bell.
Vartan!

Could this be true? That she is alive after all?
he thought.

He could barely believe it. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but he allowed himself to indulge in the possible fantasy.

Karven and Nymira revealed themselves as they landed on the western turrets of Greenhaven.
The renewed smile dropped from Vartan’s face as there was no ground beneath his feet, and he found himself falling.

The dark landscape blurred below her as she was carried through the skies, her head spinning as she regained her bearings. Kassina grimaced at the dragon’s breath’s heat over her and as she tried to send bolts of lightning through her captor, she found that she couldn’t use her magic.

She tried again without success. “Shit!”

“Let me go! What have you done to me?” Kassina said, her arms pinned within the dragon’s grasp.

“Don’t struggle or I could drop you. I will not hurt you, but this is to protect us both,” the dragon said.

Kassina froze, recognising the dragon’s voice. Memories long buried in her brain began to surface. Images flashed that tore at her blackened heart, and a dark tear ran down her cheek. Her voice wavered. “Mother?”

“Yes, it is me. I have waited what seemed to be an eternity to find you. I know that you have long lost your way, so I couldn’t take any chances with you. My breath seals your powers, for now. I will let you get more comfortable. Don’t make me regret it.”

Niesha loosened her grip and Kassina stretched her aching muscles.

Where are you taking me? He will not be happy
, Kassina thought.

Do not talk about him, and my breath hides you from Shindar. I am taking you somewhere safe, away from this battle where you would have been killed
.

I doubt that. I had Vartan in my grasp. You should have let me kill him.

My visions say otherwise. You’re lucky that the skies were filled with dragons, so I could sweep in undetected and save you. You have no idea how close you were to death.

Kassina
looked through openings in Niesha’s talons and watched as Crondor rolled by beneath them. She knew where they were going. Her eyes widened and throat tightened. As the queen of the underworld, she had not been concerned in a long time. This was one place she swore to never return to.

You are taking me to Castle Praethorne? I never want to go there, take me to my dark tower and we can talk there. Please.

Kassina remembered that day as if it were only yesterday, even though it was over nine hundred years ago. The execution of her parents at the command of King Grueber. The sound of her vampire father’s screams as the sun burned him alive still haunted her, as did the ringing of the sword and sound of choking before her mother’s head dropped in front of her cage. She had tried to bury all of it over these many years. Every cruel act would dull the pain, for a while.

No, Kassina, we must face what happened, and this is the only way that we can be free.

Kassina’s body tightened as she dug her nails into her palms. Being out of control was something she wasn’t used to, and she hated it. Her rage had to be let out, and she realised that she was angry at Nymira. Her mother failed to save them, and the dark lord was her true saviour. Nymira was weak, and he was strong.

Free? I am free! If it was not for Shindar, then I would have died that day, alongside you.

Yes, you would have, but you would have also been reborn as a dragon and wouldn’t have been influenced and filled with such darkness, would you?

She felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Her mother’s words sliced through her fragile thoughts, and left her with a blend of regret and confusion.

Would it have been better to have died?
Kassina thought.

She had hated the idea of dragon’s blood in her veins.

Could it be true, that they may have been my saviour?

She pondered the hypotheticals of how her life may have turned out as a dragon. After all, even Shindar feared the power of dragons.

Her mind was a raging war zone, and she closed her eyes to try to drown out the noise.

Silence was Kassina’s only answer for a long time, until Praethorne drew nearer. Her fiery rage had died down and she knew that she could never hate her mother for dying. The hole in her heart had never been filled, and she had longed all these years to be loved.

I have lived for centuries thinking you were gone forever and you show up now. I may hate many things, but I cannot hate you,
Kassina thought.

I always have and still love you, Kassina, and it is not too late for you. You were born with both dragon and vampire blood, and you never died at Shindar’s hand. Your soul does not belong in the underworld, but is captive there. You are his prisoner, living in a phantom reality of being free.

Niesha’s great wings flapped as she descended toward the grounds of castle Praethorne and transformed her scales, revealing herself to the world around her.

This area was overrun with demons, but they left here a few days ago. I have someone for you to meet. She will be part of your redemption and is the reason I escaped my captors. If it wasn’t for her, then I wouldn’t have saved you today.

Niesha hovered for a moment before letting Kassina go. The queen of darkness landed on her feet, straightening up and stared at a wide eyed young woman. She instinctively tried to enter the woman’s mind, but kicked the ground at her stripped powers. She wondered how long they would be gone for.