Michael Mathias - Kings, Queens, Heroes, and Fools

“Aye,” Hyden put more effort into helping Phen help him. “Into the light.”

Phen found that he was fighting tears of sorrow as he helped Hyden along. His friend was dying, and he knew it. Even so, he would get Hyden to daylight. He wouldn’t let him die down here in the dungeon. If Master Sholt or Master Amill were at hand, Phen thought that maybe a healing spell of higher magic might help, but he doubted it. The thing that had pumped Hyden’s gut full of venom looked terribly wicked, even lying dead on the dungeon floor. The malformed breed giant’s leg was swollen to the size of a cask. Phen held little hope for Hyden. He fought his tears and concentrated on helping him take each step. It was all he could think to do.

Shaella was enjoying the swift rush of early summer air as it whipped through her long dark hair. Flick was a hundred feet away, perched atop the bat-like Choska demon’s neck. It was slightly larger than Vrot in body size, but not nearly as long. It didn’t have a sinuous tail or neck. Still, it was a fierce creature, with razor sharp claws, a wide mastiff-like head, and a mouth full of nasty teeth.

As always, clutched in Shaella’s hand was the staff with the Spectral Orb mounted at its head. As the thick blue winding line of the Leif Greyn River came into view in the distance, she saw a glimmering red light swirling around inside the crystal. She brought it closer and let Vrot guide them while she studied it.

The distorted image of one of the red-robed priests stared out at her with a perplexed, yet excited look on his face.

“What is it?” she snapped, bringing the man’s attention to bear like a whip crack. “This had better be good.”

“Queen Shaella,” the priest bowed.

“Out with it,” she snapped.

Flick heard her and urged the Choska closer to the black dragon.

“Kraw has commanded us,” the priest said excitedly. “We are preparing to bring him out of the Nethers.”

“Wait for me,” she said, feeling an electric tingle run through her belly. “I’m turning back now. Do not open the seal until I’m there.”

“Yes,” the priest said in a tone that made her think he might not obey.

“Flick!” she called out. “Go on! Aid the Dakaneese in my stead, then see what else Ra’Gren requires, at your discretion of course.”

Flick felt a sinking feeling inside as he nodded that he understood her orders. It was Gerard, he knew. He could tell it by the gleaming of her eyes. With only the grim satisfaction that she was happy to motivate him, he agreed. Then he winged the Choska away before his expression could betray his emotion. Flick found that he felt a little more for his queen than he should. He knew that she didn’t return the affection. She was in love with Gerard, but nonetheless, Flick loved Shaella.

Shaella wheeled Vrot sharply around and gave her dragon a loving pat on his sleek scaled back. “Fly, my dragon,” she ordered. “Fly as swiftly as you can.” The idea that Gerard was coming to her now filled her with an ecstatic hope. She was literally trembling with excitement. It was all she could do to stay seated as Vrot churned his way through the air with his powerful wings.

In a moment of clarity Hyden called out to Claret. Not for himself-he was done. He thought he understood now what the White Goddess meant about the light. Even if he succeeded, though, he didn’t see a way to get back from where he had to go. It was Phen who needed a way out of this place. Not just out of the castle, but out of Westland completely. As Hyden leaned heavily into the corner of a hallway just above the dungeon level of the vast castle, he struggled to get his medallion’s chain over his head. When Phen returned from scouting the hall, Hyden hung it over Phen’s neck then sagged into the floor.

Phen didn’t question the deed. It would have choked him up too badly to do so. As he struggled to get Hyden back to his feet, he suddenly had an idea of his own.

“Here,” Phen said, taking Loak’s ring and pressing it into Hyden’s hand. “Put this on.”

Hyden’s moment of clarity was gone now. He looked at the boy, then at the ring. It took his scrambled brain a moment to make sense of it, but he finally understood. He let Phen slide the ring onto his finger and saw that, even to his own eyes, he disappeared.

Phen got his arm under Hyden’s and pulled him back to his feet. He knew that he looked quite insane moving through the castle hugging an invisible person, but he figured that he could prop Hyden in a corner if he had to. He struggled to get them walking again. Once he did, he felt for his connection with Spike. The lyna was up ahead of them, scouting for danger. All of the guards and servants were either hiding or trying to find a view of what the red priests were doing in the garden. Something was happening out there now, Phen guessed, for the hallways were completely empty.

Without the magic of the teardrop to fill him with relief, Hyden knew that he couldn’t go much farther. “Go on, Phen,” he whispered. “Tell me where Mikahl is, and go.”

“I’ll not let go of you, Hyden Hawk,” Phen argued stubbornly. “You’ll fall into a heap without me.”

“Then get me to Mikahl,” rasped Hyden. “After that you have to get away from here.”

“Not until I destroy the Silver Skull,” Phen said. “I know how to render it useless Hyden, but it will only work while it is being used.”

Hyden found some strange relief in that. In the foggy mess of his brain he tried to untwist the thoughts that were tangled there. After few moments he stopped them in the middle of an empty passage.

“Aye, Phen,” Hyden whispered. “Wait until the seal is open, and then destroy the skull. But I have to be there.”

“You need to…”

“No!” Hyden cut the boy a off as harshly as he could manage. “I’m going to die, Phen. Do not argue with me.” He used all the strength he had left in him to grip the boy by the shoulders and shake him. “Promise me, Phen. Promise me you’ll get me to the seal, and then destroy the skull while it’s open.”

Phen couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. He didn’t quite understand Hyden’s motives, but he understood the finality of them.

“Aye,” he whispered. “I’ll try my damnedest, Hyden. I will.”

The same day Lord Gregory and Lady Trella arrived in the Red City of Dreen, so did Queen Willa. The two parties, however, arrived in quite different manners. The Lion Lord and his wife came into the city on horseback, after spending many days of hard riding over the well-worn passage through the Wildermont Mountains. Queen Willa used a witchy device that was hidden in the depths of her castle, called the Wardstone Waygate. Used properly, the Wardstone Waygate could take its user, and a handful of others, most anywhere they could imagine. It was a one way teleportation though. No matter where you went, you had to use conventional means, or other magical ones, to return to Xwarda. Only a handful of people knew that it existed, and as far as anyone knew, the gateway was the only one of its kind.

Queen Willa had her hair pulled back into a fat single braid, and was dressed for battle. A knee length shirt of fine silvery chain mail was fastened around her middle by a plated leather girdle. Over her shoulders was a custom formed breastplate that maintained her feminine form. High, shin-plated, boots, a helmet of gold worked steel, and a long narrow sword completed her garb. She brought with her a small escort, four of her fiercest Blacksword warriors as a personal guard, and King Granitheart, the ruler of the dwarves. Several days earlier she had dispatched from Xwarda ten thousand of her Blacksword soldiers, and half again as many mounted pike men. King Granitheart sent the remainder of his force with them, some three thousand battle eager dwarves. The entire force was currently marching west and Willa figured they would be almost to Kastia by now. A pair of her Master Wizard’s apprentices, young men who barely qualified as acolytes, were with the troops. The idea was for Master Sholt, Master Amill, the apprentices, and herself to be able to communicate by way of spells and other magical means so that the separate groups of soldiers could work together.