Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

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“Have them blunt their arrows,” shouted King Avalar. “I want them to hit solidly when they are fired. There will be no flesh to bite into. The task is to break the spinal column supporting the head.”

“I will see to it,” promised Galantor.

The elven king returned his attention to the duel in the sky in time to see the demon gore the underside of the dragon.

“That doesn’t look good,” commented Ukaro. “Isn’t there anything that we can do to help?”

“Not according to Myka,” Lyra shook her head. “The demons are immune to magic, and our weapons are puny in comparison to the armor of their hides.”

“Emperor Marak is being tossed around dangerously,” frowned Princess Alastasia. “If Myka dies, so does the Torak. How can he manage to hang on?”

“His life depends upon hanging on,” Ukaro said softly.

StarWind came running towards the group and halted alongside Lyra.

“We have contacted the Astor,” she reported. “We were just in time. The free tribes were just about to advance into the field of skeletons. They have halted and are awaiting instructions.”

“They will have to wait a bit,” Lyra said distractedly. “I don’t know how to continue without the Torak.”

“We must continue,” balked King Avalar. “We are all committed to destroying Vand. There is no other option for us. He will destroy our world. Surely the Star and the Astor will carry on?”

“I understand the position that we are in,” Lyra retorted tensely. “What I meant by my words is that the prophecies clearly state that the Three will battle Vand for control of the world. If the Torak dies, the Three are no longer. I do not know if just the Astor and I can fulfill the prophecy.”

“I will not accept that,” Princess Alastasia declared. “Everyone here will fight to the death to destroy Vand. I do not care what the prophecies state. We are all committed to this campaign, and we shall finish it, one way or another.”

“Well spoken, daughter,” smiled King Avalar.

“I would have it no other way,” explained Lyra. “I have no intention of backing out. I just want everyone to realize that our fight may be futile. That is not to say that we would even think of abandoning it.”

“A tail to the face!” exclaimed Ukaro. “Myka is going in for the kill.”

Everyone’s attention returned to the battle overhead as Myka’s claws ripped into the demon’s face and then the demon shredded the dragon’s wing.

“This is not going well,” StarWind remarked with nervousness. “Can’t we do something? I would rather attack than stand here watching helplessly.”

“Myka does look wounded,” sighed King Avalar, “but I would never give up on a winged warrior. They have the spirit of Kaltara abiding within them.”

“Within her,” corrected the Star of Sakova. “Myka is the last of her kind.”

The group watched as the demon circled the wounded dragon. Breaths were held and the camp fell silent as the demon spiraled closer and closer.

“She’s falling,” gasped Lyra. “Oh, Kaltara, save her.”

The demon dove after the falling dragon, and everyone held their breath again. When Myka flared her wings and struck the demon in the neck, the whole crowd cheered loudly. They watched with satisfaction as the demon’s body plummeted to the ground.

“I thought Marak would fall off when Myka began dropping,” Lyra sighed with relief. “He was barely hanging on, and a fall from such a height would surely have killed him.”

“Praise Kaltara that that is over with,” exhaled Ukaro.

“Praise him indeed,” King Avalar said softly, “but it is not over. Look towards the temple.”

The group gazed towards the towering Temple of Vandegar and saw the two black specks flying towards the dragon.

“She is in no condition to fight right now,” frowned Ukaro. “She must flee to fight another day.”

“She is trying to flee to the east,” remarked StarWind, “but her flying is erratic. I don’t think she will be able to elude them.”

The demons saw the dragon’s intended path and moved to intercept her. The two demons separated in altitude as they approached Myka, and everyone knew that the fight would commence soon. There was no way for Myka to escape. As everyone watched in horrified silence, the demons angled to get the dragon between them so that they could both attack at once. Myka tried frantically to outmaneuver the demons by twisting and turning and reversing course, but it was not to be. Another battle in the sky was about to begin, and this one was not a match of equals.

A sudden communal gasp ripped through the forest as Emperor’s Marak’s body separated from the back of the dragon and plummeted towards the ground. No sooner had he fallen than the demons swept in to strike the dragon and deal a deathblow to their mighty foe.

As the group watched Emperor Marak fall from the dragon, the Star of Sakova dropped to her knees in prayer. Absolute silence reigned for several seconds and then wild cheers erupted from the group. Lyra rose swiftly and tried to see why they were cheering.

“Tell me,” pleaded Lyra. “What happened to Marak?”

“Weren’t you watching?” replied Princess Alastasia. “He landed in the lake.”

“Is he alive?” Lyra asked.

“We can’t tell from here,” King Avalar said softly, “but there is hope for him now. Had he landed on the ground he would have surely died.”

“We must go to him,” declared the Star of Sakova. “StarWind, get everyone ready.”

“There are thousands of creatures between us and the lake,” warned StarWind. “We may not survive the journey.”

“We would have to go there and then bring Emperor Marak back here,” added Princess Alastasia. “We cannot possibly defend him at the side of the lake, and those creatures are sure to pursue us.”

“I don’t want excuses or warnings,” screamed Lyra. “Get the chokas ready now. The Sakovans are going to get Marak and bring him to safety.”

StarWind backed away from Lyra, her eyes wide with surprise. While Lyra often had emotional outbursts, she had never screamed in fury before. The Star of Sakova’s face was scarlet and her eyes were piercing. StarWind swallowed and nodded silently before she raced into the campsite and called for the Sakovans to mount up for battle. Ukaro stepped next to the Star of Sakova and placed his arm around her comfortingly.

“The Sakovans are only five hundred strong,” he said softly.

Lyra turned, pushing his arm away as she glared at the Chula shaman. Her mouth opened wide to deliver a verbal tirade, but Ukaro smiled and placed a finger on her lips.

“Here my words,” Ukaro pleaded. “I am not saying that you should not go, but I want you to realize the seriousness of what we are going to do.”

“We?” frowned Lyra.

“Marak is my son and the pride of the Chula people,” smiled Ukaro. “Did you actually think that we would abandon him? I do not know how much help the Chula will be, but we will run with you.”

“In cat form?” asked King Avalar.

“It would be the only way that we could keep up with the chokas,” nodded Ukaro. “That is why I said we may not be of much help against the creatures. We can run or fight, but doing both at the same time is not very effective.”

“Would your people accept riders?” asked Princess Alastasia.

Ukaro smiled broadly. “Elven archers perhaps?” he asked.

“That is what I was thinking,” nodded King Avalar. “Marak is our Torak as well. We have not come all the way from Elvangar to see him die at the hands of these creatures.”

“With pleasure,” Ukaro nodded vigorously. “We can only carry five hundred archers. The rest of my people are not shamans and cannot perform the transformation.”