Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (13 page)

Vintenar
Yeroth remained silent for what seemed like a very long time to Zedd. He felt certain none of his story, so far, would or could be disputed, but he still felt a huge amount of apprehension about what he would surely be asked next.

“So where are my men now?”
Vintenar
Yeroth asked, still staring intently at Zedd.

“We had been pursuing the boy-mage and his party for days, when I noticed that rockslide blocking the path up there,” Zedd said, pointing up the mountainside. “I sent the men to attack them as they tried to cross the barrier. I had seen the boy-mage levitate from the city wall in Stelgad, so I felt it was necessary to remain here, just in case he tried to escape down the mountainside instead of trying to cross the barrier. Either way, he should have been an easy target I felt.”

“What do you mean, ‘
should have been
’?” asked
Vintenar
Yeroth suspiciously. “Are you trying to tell me they
have
escaped?”

“The truth is, I don’t know, sir. The last report I received described a cave entrance next to the blockage. After that I’ve been unable to contact my men. I presumed they had entered the cave in search of the boy-mage and his party, and that was the reason why I couldn’t contact them. We were about to go investigate when you arrived, sir.” Zedd replied, intentionally leaving out the small detail of the two paladins, one of whom was carrying a particularly deadly bow.

Zedd heard
Vintenar
Yeroth try to communicate with his men on the ridge high above them—but he knew no reply would be heard. Zedd realised that whoever had been watching them from above was now gone, but even more disturbing to Zedd, was the fact he could no longer see any trace of them. He didn’t relish the prospect of going up the mountainside blind, not knowing where that girl and her bow were hiding.

“Then I suggest we go see where they are,”
Vintenar
Yeroth said, indicating he wanted Zedd and his men to remain in front of him, where they could be easily seen.

“Of course, sir,” Zedd replied, bowing his head in deference. Zedd indicated that Cole should join him, and his remaining man fell in behind without question. ‘
Not surprising now he had lied to Vintenar Yeroth, or at least not been forthcoming with the truth,’
Zedd thought smugly.

Zedd could only guess where the boy-mage and his party were now. He intended to keep a keen eye open for them on his ascent up the mountainside, but he also wouldn’t hesitate to use Cole as his own personal shield if he had to. Once they reached the sheer rock face Zedd began to levitate, taking Cole along with him, and once again his remaining man followed close behind. Zedd glanced back towards
Vintenar
Yeroth and his men, still on the ground far below them. ‘
He’s waiting to see if we’re attacked in the air before he follows us
,’ Zedd thought, with utter contempt for the man.

Zedd scanned the mountainside for any evidence of the boy-mage’s party, but he couldn’t see any sign of them anywhere. When he reached the level of the cave he began to move towards the path but instead of landing on the path, he momentarily levitated a little higher. That’s when he saw it. The briefest flash of someone’s aura high up above the cave. ‘
They were waiting to ambush him and his men
,’ Zedd thought, anger quickly building within him. Then after a moment, his smile returned, as he realised he may be able to actually use this to his own advantage. He checked to see where
Vintenar
Yeroth and his men were and was glad to see they had only just left the ground below.

“I suggest you stay near the wall if you want to live. They’ve planned an ambush for us in front of that cave. And don’t even think about warning our friendly
Vintenar
about it, or the ambush will be the least of your concerns,” Zedd said glaring at his remaining man. The man subconsciously glanced towards the cave, as if he were expecting to see the boy-mage and his party there, before turning back to Zedd and nodding that he understood.

“Good, now it’s about to get interesting, especially when our
Vintenar
finds all those bodies,” Zedd said quietly. Seconds later
Vintenar
Yeroth and his men joined them on the path. Once again
Vintenar
Yeroth insisted that Zedd and his men should lead the group, which he did, making sure he kept as close to the wall as possible.

When they came within view of the rockslide, they could also clearly see the bodies of the dead agents strewn across the path. Eight bodies lay in the mud, five of which had already been reanimated once, but three still remained viable minions.

“How could one boy possibly kill so many of our agents?”
Vintenar
Yeroth asked, shocked at the scene before him.

“I have no idea, sir,” Zedd replied, pretending to be equally shocked. “I think that must be the cave they’re hiding in, sir,” he said, pointing to the opening. He watched the
Vintenar’s
face pale at the thought of entering the dark cave. A cave where someone powerful enough to cause the deaths of so many agents may be lying in wait for him and his men. Zedd smiled inwardly, knowing he could use the uncertainty of this man against him.

“Sir… I feel responsible for the deaths of these men. It was my orders they were following when they died, please, allow me and my men to check the cave. If they’re still inside, I will bring them to swift justice for what they have done here, that I promise,” Zedd said passionately. It didn’t take
Vintenar
Yeroth more than heartbeat to accept Zedd’s offer—just as Zedd had expected it wouldn’t.

“Very well, I will allow you to avenge their deaths on my behalf,”
Vintenar
Yeroth said, waving his hand as if he had just granted Zedd a great privilege.

Zedd had to swallow his anger for the man before he was able to calmly reply, “Thank you, sir.” Zedd turned to Cole and his remaining man, signalling they should join him inside the cave, then began walking towards the cave entrance.

“Oh, I almost forgot, sir,” Zedd said stopping mid-stride and turning to
Vintenar
Yeroth, “One of the boy-mage’s party dropped a pouch full of gemstones. There was also a map showing the location of what looks like a new training facility here in Afaraon. I had one of my men carry them for safekeeping… sorry, I mean
your
men, sir.” Zedd pointed in the general direction of the dead bodies, then continued towards the cave entrance, his smile growing wider with each step he took. It was common knowledge amongst Empire agents that Lord Zelroth had suspected the existence of an unknown training facility here in Afaraon for a long time, but none had ever been found. Zedd knew that anyone who brought such knowledge to Lord Zelroth’s attention would be rewarded handsomely indeed, and he was equally sure
Vintenar
Yeroth knew that too.

When Zedd reached the cave entrance he paused, taking a moment to check if his ruse had worked. It had. Behind him he saw
Vintenar
Yeroth and his men begin searching the corpses one by one for the fabled map and gemstones. ‘
Now I just hope that girl is paying attention
,’ Zedd thought to himself. He didn’t have to hope for long. Even before he entered the cave he heard the arrow thud into someone behind him, then felt the first death-pulse as the agent died. He turned just in time to see the look of complete shock on
Vintenar
Yeroth’s face as the second arrow struck him squarely in the chest.
Vintenar
Yeroth stared unbelievingly at the arrow now protruding from his chest, mouthing some unheard question.

Zedd stepped out of the cave entrance back into the light, grinning freely at the sight before him.
Vintenar
Yeroth fell to his knees, arrow gripped in both hands.

“Oh, I knew there was something else—I forgot to tell you, there’s a paladin on the mountainside above us with a bow, and she’s quite a good shot,” Zedd said light-heartedly.
Vintenar
Yeroth’s eyes widened briefly as he realised Zedd’s deception. Then he fell forward, driving the arrow clean through his back, and another, much larger death-pulse was felt by many on the mountainside.

Zedd turned to face
Vintenar
Yeroth’s two remaining men. Both were staring open-mouthed at their dead commander, unable or unwilling to accept the fact he had just been killed by an arrow.

“You,” Zedd said pointing to one of the men, “levitate their bodies over there.” Zedd pointed to an area outside the cave, a place where the female paladin would be unable to see from her vantage point. The man did as requested and brought the two dead bodies to where Zedd had indicated he wanted them. ‘
He wouldn’t have if he knew what their ultimate fate would be
,’ Zedd thought to himself.

“Bring those three over here too,” Zedd commanded, pointing at the three dead agents who had been shot the last time he was up here. Again the man complied without question. Once all five bodies were together, Zedd turned to the man who had reanimated the previous agents and instructed him to raise the five bodies. Both of the new men let out gasps of disbelief when they heard his command but neither man questioned Zedd’s orders. ‘
Apparently, they are smart enough to realise that if I’ve killed a Vintenar, then their lives would mean nothing to me
,’ Zedd thought.

Zedd removed the two arrows from the dead men and tossed them into the back of the cave. ‘
That’s another two fewer arrows she has now
,’ he thought. Adding them all up in his mind, he realised that she couldn’t have that many left, and with no way to make any more, it was a simple question of what would run out first, her arrows or his men. Smiling to himself, he entered the cave and made himself as comfortable as possible while he waited for the man to reanimate the dead agents outside.

Ten minutes later the man entered the cave and informed Zedd he had finished reanimating the dead agents. Zedd had been thinking about his next move. He knew the girl would still be watching from above, hoping they would try to levitate over the rockslide and give her an easy target. He had no intention of giving her that opportunity. If he couldn’t go over the rockslide and he couldn’t go around it—he would go through it instead.

“Order your minions to clear the rockslide away from the rock face. I want a gap making so we can pass through safely right next to the rock face,” Zedd commanded, not bothering to stand up. The man nodded and left the cave. Moments later Zedd could hear the sounds of rocks being moved around outside the cave entrance, and he smiled at the thought of
Vintenar
Yeroth being made to work for him.

Lying flat on his stomach, and with his aura completely hidden, Lusam watched from the edge of the path as the agents made their way towards the cave. Concern amongst Lusam’s party had grown rapidly several minutes earlier, as four more Empire agents were spotted in the distance heading towards the others in the camp below. At first they were afraid that even more Empire agents would soon arrive, but it turned out to be only those four in the end, thankfully. They could no longer hope to kill all of the Empire agents here, instead the plan had become one of containment. They planned to kill as many as they could in the ambush, then wait to see if they would attempt to cross the rockslide. If they did, there would be a further chance to reduce their numbers.

Lusam watched as the agents disappeared from view. For some reason they were walking very close to the rock face, which made it impossible to see them from his vantage point. For a while Lusam wondered if they had been spotted somehow, and that was the reason why they were hugging the rock face like they were. Alexia was behind him now, crouching down a little further back on the path. The plan was that Lusam would tell her when the agents were out in the open, then she would quickly stand up and take her shots while he shielded them both in case the agents returned fire.

“How far?” Alexia whispered from behind.

“I don’t know, I can’t see them. They’re staying too close to the rock face for me to be able to see them. Do you think they could have seen us here?”

“I don’t see how. I didn’t come onto the path until you told me to, and the Empire agents couldn’t possibly have seen me from where they were. Maybe they simply suspect a trap and are being cautious.”

“Maybe. I guess we’ll soon see,” Lusam whispered back. Time seemed to stand still as Lusam waited. Then suddenly an agent emerged from the cover of the rock face, then a second. He waited for more, but none came out into the open. He could see the two exposed agents checking the dead bodies for something, then he noticed something else: one of the two men had a very bright aura. He was one of the new Empire agents, and quite possibly their leader. Lusam would have preferred more available targets before giving the signal for Alexia to shoot, but killing one as powerful as him was probably better than killing two or three regular agents anyway.

Lusam gave Alexia the signal, and she quickly stood up and released her first arrow in one fluid motion. A heartbeat later, a second arrow was on its way. The first arrow killed its target almost instantly, confirmed by the death-pulse felt by Lusam and Renn. The second arrow also found its target, thudding into the chest of the agent with the brightest aura. Lusam watched as the man’s eyes widened with shock and disbelief. It also looked like he was trying to say something, his mouth working silently, as he fell to his knees. He gripped the arrow with both hands, then fell forward, driving the arrow right through him. The death-pulse was the largest Lusam had ever felt. He wasn’t sure how far away a regular death-pulse could be felt, but this one had him worried. ‘
If there were any other Empire agents in the area, they would certainly have felt that
,’ Lusam thought to himself, subconsciously scanning the horizon for signs of movement.