The Dragon Knight's Curse (The Dragon Knight Series Book 2) (17 page)

The old woman leapt back and cast a ward spell. It might as well have been a piece of parchment. Without seemingly taking a step to appear before her enemy, Mytariss had used a spear of glass to impale the woman’s heart. As she turned her formidable attention to those at the barrier, she and her light vanished.

With a splintered scream I wish I never heard, Odet shouted, “Noooo! Mother!”

Piercing out through the queen’s chest was the point of a blackish blade. Its cloaked wielder gradually became visible as his invisibility spell ended. Leandra’s body and his brown hood prevented me from seeing most of his face, but the fairly robust figure told me this Advent was a man. The Advent’s corrupted blade began turning white as it absorbed the queen’s holy prana while she yet lived.

Sharing Odet’s desperation, I plunged my sword into the barrier with everything I still carried within me. The steel cut through, but it became lodged between the Advent’s side and my own. The numbing sensation the knight spoke of coursed up my arms. I didn’t care. Neither did many shouting knights. Seeing my sword’s relative success had others do the same. A handful were able match my accomplishment. Meanwhile, their comrades put all they had left in their spells. And while it quivered and the blondes became restless, the fucking barrier still wouldn’t fall.

The now pure white sword slipped out of the motionless queen, letting her body slump callously to the ground. The light from his glowing blade illuminated a surprisingly youthful face under his hood. A fringe of sweaty black hair could be detected, and stubble lined his cheeks and chin. The hooded Advent then walked up to his dead comrade and placed a hand upon her. She was gone in a blink. He used the same teleportation spell on his living allies before he placed a hand etched with a bloody rune on himself and let air take his place. Only then did the barrier fade away.

Odet’s sprinting steps and those of some knights were all that echoed in the quiet chamber. When they stopped, it was Odet’s tears that rang loudly as they dripped onto her mother’s body. I hated it when my father placed a consoling hand on my shoulder, for it made me feel even more like a helpless child.

Without the Advent supplying the corrupted valkrean with orders, all the eidolons were unsummoned. To keep the corrupted valkrean from attacking with their bare hands, all eight found inside Western Ecrin had to be killed. My group were given horses to get back to our borrowed house. With the dangers of the eidolons gone, Bell and Elisa returned to the palace. I told Bell what happened, but Elisa would be kept in the dark awhile longer.

I didn’t chase updates over the following days, but I heard from Clarissa that the guild had found a vacant ship drifting near the eastern shore, a ship owned by Lady Vealora. This piece of news came shortly after she was found missing from her cell. There was a frantic search for the Advent. No known teleportation spell could take someone as far as a few hundred yards, but with an unknown enemy using unknown barriers, it didn’t come as a surprise to me that not even a destination rune was found anywhere.

As for that barrier, Aranath stated that the power he sensed when I stabbed through it was not fed by corruption or by any kind of power he encountered before. “I am certain it’s not a power a mere human could discover on their own,” continued the dragon.

“So you believe another realm’s power is involved.”

“Most likely.”

“Is my corruption purified now?”

“Neither the girl nor I had the skill for such a feat. I was able to seal it away, meaning my own power is free to aid your prana with less resistance. However, I can no longer release any corruption without breaking the seal. There’s simply too much added corruption to suppress if it were to escape.”

“So no more trump card, huh? You know, for as much as it hurt to use it, I actually liked knowing it was an option. By the way, are you fully grown? Not that I’m implying anything. I just heard some dragons can get pretty big.”

“My growth has slowed the past two hundred years, so no, I do not expect to get much larger over my lifetime. Nonetheless, as I prefer keeping my status as a dexterous flier, I’m quite pleased my frame won’t swell with more bulk. I wouldn’t wish to be any smaller, either, as that would limit my power. You will come to see that my current size will bring you the best of both speed and strength.”

“How close am I to summoning you without help?”

“You are nearer without the corruption hindering us, but seeing you practice with dragon fire will help me determine how far you are.”

That’s what I did over the next four days as Ecrin awaited Odet’s father to return from his journey.

The day after the king arrived, Bell came to inform us that we were invited to the memorial service, which was to take place after the morning’s funeral procession. Whether we came to the memorial service or not, we were entreated to show ourselves afterwards in the throne room by the king’s request, who wouldn’t be a king once his first daughter had her coronation.

We went to the service, of course, along with half of the city’s nobles. It took place at the palace’s central garden under a sky as cloudless as the days before. Many people spoke, which included the king and his two older children. Their stirring eulogies made me glad I did not know such a wonderful woman. Even my father shed a tear, though I believe that came from being reminded of the woman he lost years before.

It was after Odet stepped down from her verbal tribute that I saw her current paramour for the first time. He was in emerald armor engraved with a rearing stallion at its breastplate. I then expected to identify a face fashioned from the gods themselves, but he was closer to mortal than not. His boyish face was topped with tawny hair and his fair skin carried a tanned tone thanks to his recent trip to the south. He might have been an inch or two taller than me, but even in the armor he looked leaner than I. I think Clarissa told me at some point in the past that his name was Gerard.

The sun had begun to drop from its highest point by the time Lorcan, Lucetta, Clarissa, Ghevont, and I made our way up to the throne room. Lucetta wasn’t specifically invited, but she came anyway. We were led there by Bell, who had previously told us to meet her by the copper garden door. We used this door to enter a small storage building that helped us bypass the crowds. The throne hall was located at the top of the same building I had witnessed the death of the queen.

We climbed a spiraling staircase to reach the sought after height. The great hall was exposed to the elements on three sides. Its single wall stood behind two hefty thrones that sprouted directly from the marble floor. Along with the two heavy wooden chairs placed alongside them, the seats were cushioned with thick fabrics.

Sitting on three of these thrones was a grave King Eudon, soon-to-be-queen Beatrice, and Princess Odet. Standing to the king’s right was a heavily armored, heavily bearded, brown-skinned man with a weighty lance in hand. Our introductions had me learning that this knight was captain to Alslana’s High Guard, Bernar Savoy. Gerard was to Odet’s left.

“I wish our meeting were under better circumstances,” said the king after introductions.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Lorcan. “I too know the horrendous pain you all are going through.”

Stroking his short gray beard, the king nodded. “Aye, and you also know our enemy better than most.”

“And most of that comes from my son.”

His grim gaze fell on me. “Yes, Odet says you’ve been tracking these so called ‘Advent’ for some time now. She also says you’re responsible for the dragon in the sky that day.”

“And she’s the reason I was able to summon him at all.”

“So it’s true, then? A dragon knight is among us after all this time.”

“I am no true Veknu Milaris yet, your highness. I could not summon him now if our lives depended on it.”

“Nevertheless, I’m now in the position of either having to confirm or deny the existence of a dragon knight within my kingdom. How do you wish for me to handle this situation? Do you wish to declare fealty to Alslana?”

“I’d rather you not confirm that I exist at all. As far as I’m concerned, that was a wild dragon the Advent failed to control. Even if I wished to declare my existence at this moment, I would only swear fealty to individuals, not any nation. Your second daughter might be a princess of Alslana, but to me she is simply a friend whose support I will lend when I can.” I wanted to make eye contact with Odet when I admitted we were more than business partners, but her father’s severe scrutiny forced me to keep my focus on him the whole way.

“That’s good enough for me,” replied the king. “I’ve heard that you’re close to discovering a map of sorts to the Advent’s main purpose.”

I slapped Ghevont’s back to make sure he understood his cue.

Bowing awkwardly, the scholar said, “Oh, yes, your mighty majesty. All my research the last several days has led me to believe that
Summertide
is a map. Based on the related pattern of words and stanzas in the poem, I believe there are four sites in Orda that can be linked together on a global map to pinpoint a new location. Unfortunately, I’ve come close to doing all I can on paper. There are still two sites unknown to me that need to be found.”

“Which locations are those?”

“The first is a place Mercer and I are hoping your highness will hire the guild to locate. Somewhere in the southern reaches of the Rezundari continent lies the lone battle site of the mythical Solstice War. This is where the Doomhammer was said to have been forever lost with its master. The battle is only mentioned in one other reputable account, but it too describes the battle taking place on a small crescent harbor. It wouldn’t hurt to find the Doomhammer itself. When you hire the guild, be sure to stress that they need expert cartographers plotting the site. The more accurate their readings, the better. The fact the Advent found it must mean we can at least get quite close to discovering this real site to a possibly fictional battle.”

“I’ll be sure to stress all I can. And what of the second site you need found?”

“I will have to go personally, unless your majesty doesn’t mind invading the Hadarii Desert, of course.”

“The Hadarii? What do you wish to find in that barbarian infested place?”

“Ah, if your highness recalls his history lessons, then you will remember the capital of Old Voreen lies somewhere there. Kitiri’mor was abandoned to barbarians and sand soon after Old Voreen’s collapse. The city has been lost to modern mapmakers ever since. Any maps that do have the lost capital are purely speculative and lazily place the city roughly at the center of Niatrios. No, someone must learn of its true location.”

“I see, then it seems I’ve little choice but to allow you to search on your own.”

“What?” said Odet. “There has to be a better option than to leave them to explore that desolate land on their own.”

“It’s not ideal, but sending the guild or our soldiers will only draw unwanted attention. Few barbarian tribes are friendly to outsiders, but they’ll stand a better chance traveling in a smaller, more innocuous group… What? Did you say something, Beatrice?”

His daughter did indeed say something, but she had been too quiet to hear. Even when she spoke again she was barely discernible and her lips appeared to be going through the motions of talking.

Trying hard not to fumble with her fingers, Beatrice said, “There might be a better way. I remember an academic gentleman came over from Prusal last year requesting funds for an expedition into the Hadarii. I do not recall if he sought Kitiri’mor, but it must have surely been one of his goals. We did not end up granting the request, but I do remember him explaining to mother that he had gained support from a few tribal leaders. They were to help him traverse the wastes in greater safety. If we can search our records, I’m certain we can learn the gentleman’s name and find out if it’s not too late to fund his project.”

The king had been nodding proudly as his princess pushed through her still enfeebled mind. “Yes, every few weeks we grant an audience to some scholar or adventurer seeking a hefty investment on our end. They always promise us a portion of the treasures they’ll find in whatever ruin they’ll surely discover. So even if Beatrice’s academic is not available, I’m certain we can find someone else to fund. Would being part of an academic expedition be acceptable for the rest of you?”

“As long as it doesn’t take too long to set up,” I replied.

“We have a good standing with Prusal and they’ll have no objections to sharing any information they have on their academic expeditions. A response from them will be swift.”

“If you can, your grace, treat this matter as a mundane topic that holds little of your personal attention.”

“Yes, young dragon knight, I am well aware how to go about this business quietly. I realize it will seem strange to outsiders that Alslana royalty has suddenly concerned themselves with a trite matter after an attack such as this. I will work through our respective universities and make it appear as though this was nothing more than a long scheduled application. Does that satisfy you?”

I bowed.

“Now, you may not declare your allegiance to Alslana, but I don’t mind lending my support to you. The next time you move out, I would like you to take one of Alslana’s finest young warriors.” Gerard stepped up and bowed to my group. “Gerard Safrix is part of my personal escort and is determined as anyone to repay the Advent for what they’ve done. Will you accept my offer?”

I thought over a moment, looking over both him and Odet, then said, “As long as he agrees that the orders of my father and I are the same as those from a superior officer.”

“Then it’s agreed. Alslana would also like to give a future dragon knight more permanent lodging whenever you or your allies visit my kingdom, but for now, you may keep using your current accommodations as you see fit.”

“Uh, thank you, your majesty, but if you insist on giving me permanent lodgings here, then I must insist on a quiet, modest place.”

“You can speak to our architects later for the details. Meanwhile, as you follow your
Summertide
lead, I’ll get my people to openly hunt the Advent. If we’re lucky, then maybe we can find the cult’s hideout without the need to go into barbaric wastelands. If there’s nothing else, my family has much to do.”

More bows were given at our leave.

The majority of my time over the following days was spent in training, either alone or with a sparring partner. I even amused Ethan’s whims a few times. I expected for Odet to bring over Gerard soon after the throne meeting, but they didn’t show that first week. She must have truly been troubled for her sisters’ mental state to not feel as though she could leave their sides for a few hours. Her own mind must have not been too keen on leaving as well.

My own concern lied with Clarissa’s reaction to what I had to tell her. I knew it wouldn’t make that much of a difference, but I chose to give her the news when she was at her most tired. This meant speaking to her before she was to get her afternoon sleep. I entered her candle-lit bedroom to see she her gulping down a pre-sleep blood vial.

“We need to talk.”

Her experience with me had her pick up the subtle difference between my regular serious tone and the one I used when an argument wasn’t going to be possible. She took some seconds to swallow the remaining blood before sitting at the edge of her bed.