Wayne Batson - The Final Storm

In just a few moments Robby had taken out three of the enemy soldiers, but many more were charging up to take their place. There could be no winning this battle behind enemy lines. Robby backed toward the wall of Alleble, and the enemy closed in.

Then something drew the knights’ attention. They turned from Robby and saw rows and rows of knights turning their heads and looking into the gloom. A huge shadowy shape came forth, and enemy knights were grabbed up and launched violently into the air, cartwheeling into their own forces. In just a few seconds hundreds of knights had been destroyed. The vision! Robby remembered in a rush. It’s happening!

The knights scattered and tried to get away, but it came upon them with lightning speed. A large serpentine creature with huge slanted yellow eyes rose and began grabbing up Paragor Knights in each of its huge claws. The monster hurled them away and raced toward Robby. Robby backed away in fear, slamming into the wall. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground. The taloned fingers of the beast clenched in. Robby screamed and dropped his broadsword. He expected any second to be cast into the air or smashed into the wall.

“You are not a Paragor Knight, are you, hmmm?” Robby felt warm breath wash over him. He opened his eyes to a squint and saw nothing but huge yellow eyes and jaws filled with teeth as big as knives. “I sssee that you are not! It is a good thing for you that Falon’s eyes are still keen.”

Several Paragor archers fired upon Falon from what they thought was a safe distance. Falon didn’t even glance in their direction. She simply slithered the back end of her body around behind them and crushed them in her coils. “Pesky, aren’t they?” she said with a mischievous laugh. “Now then, who are you?”

“My name is Robby,” he replied. “You aren’t going to eat me… are you?”

“Eat you?” Falon smiled. “Nay, young Robby. I have already had my fill of these black-armored folk. Not terribly tasty… no. But, perhaps I will go back for more later.”

Robby felt a chill run up his back.

“Wait,” Falon said. “My eyes may not be as good as I claimed. You are not Glimpse-kind! You are from the Mirror Realm, hmmm?”

“Righ-ight!” Robby nodded. “I’m from Maryland.”

“The land of Mary?” Falon asked, scratching her chin with one of her talons. “Never heard of that, but I have met others from the Mirror Realm. You do not by any chance know Sir Aidan, do you?”

“Aidan!” Robby’s eyes lit up. “Yes, he’s my best friend!”

“Your best friend? Really?” Falon smiled. “Oh, this is getting interesting now, isn’t it, hmmm?”

“Is he here?”

Falon nodded. “I left Aidan and Lady Antoinette in a valley behind the enemy’s flank, out of harm’s way… for the moment.”

“But I thought,” Robby stammered, hardly believing his ears. “I mean, Aelic was near death,… and that means-”

Falon looked at Robby strangely. Slowly she lowered Robby to the ground. “Pick up your sword, young Robby,” she said. “Where we are going, I have a feeling you are going to need it.”

K aliam knew that before him stood the Wyrm Lord, changing from a large Glimpse to his true self. Kaliam raised his broadsword and charged. The Wyrm Lord lifted up his claw and backhanded Kaliam off the ramp, sending him crashing into some short trees nearby. Now in his true form, the monstrous dragon with dark scales, a long crested neck, and wings that spread and blotted out all the sky was looking down at Kaliam. The Wyrm Lord reared back and inhaled. A loud horn rang out and the wyrm craned his neck, and in that moment, a black-shafted arrow plunged into the creature’s right eye. He shrieked, grabbed the arrow, and yanked it free. The eye closed and did not open again. Then the Wyrm Lord stirred his great wings and took to the air.

The next face Kaliam saw was much more pleasant. “Would you like a hand?” asked Nock.

Kaliam stood and asked, “That was your shot?”

“I owed him one from the time we met in the forest,” Nock said, pulling Kaliam up to the ramp.

Kaliam ran to the wheel. “Nock, help me close the gate!”

Nock ran over to help pull the wheel, but before he arrived Kaliam yelled, “It is no use! The wyrm has fused it with his fire!”

Then they heard a noise like thunder. “Horses!” Nock yelled. “We are too late! Paragor sends his mounted troops!”

They ran down the ramp and saw the gate raised high and hundreds of dark horses pouring in. “Quick, to the parapets!” Kaliam shouted. And as they climbed to the gatehouse wall, the wind began to howl. Lightning crackled and struck a nearby tower. They looked from the parapets out over the plains of Alleble; the clouds billowed and churned like the contents of a cauldron.

“The storm is breaking upon us!” cried Nock.

Kaliam and Nock stared into the storm and saw shapes materializing out of the clouds… winged shapes.

“Paragor releases his dragons at last!” Kaliam exclaimed.

And the sky became filled with shapes of dragons. Upon each dragon rode a warrior whose helmet was in the shape of a skull. Each wielded a long staff with a sickle-shaped blade at the end.

Kaliam heard Sir Warriant yell from the walls, “The Deathreapers have come! The Deathreapers!”

Kaliam and Nock sprinted along the parapets as the Deathreapers descended. The Deathreapers swooped down and slashed with their scythes, hewing anyone within their reach.

“Nock, where are our own dragons?” Kaliam asked.

“I do not know,” he replied. “But I will go and find out. Never alone!”

“Never alone!” Kaliam repeated. He looked back at the enemy pouring into the gate. He saw the lightning split the sky, and the Deathreapers swarming in overhead. Alleble’s defenses were crumbling. He drew in a deep breath, hefted his broadsword, and ran across the walls. Where is Lady Merewen?

Falon came to a stop just beyond the southern flank of the enemy. Robby clambered down off of Falon’s foreleg to see two knights: a soldier in the dark livery of Paragory and a warrior of Alleble, standing side by side. “Aidan?”

“Robby!” Aidan yelled, and he ran to his friend.

“Aidan, did you join Paragor?”

“What?” Aidan asked, dumbfounded. And then he looked down. “Oh, the armor! Uh, that’s a long story! But I’m with Alleble. Robby, this is Antoinette Reed.”

“So we meet-,” Robby said.

“I hate to break up thisss reunion,” Falon said, “but we have something important to do.” Falon held out her foreleg and Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby climbed up.

“Yes!” Aidan exclaimed. “Take us to the gates!”

“Nay, Sir Aidan,” Falon replied, shaking her massive head.

“But, Falon, you said-”

“I changed my mind,” Falon replied curtly. “The enemy at the gates of Alleble does only the bidding of its master. I intend for us to go after Paragor himself.”

The lookout on the balcony above Guard’s Keep loosed a trumpet blast, and the combined dragon forces of Alleble and its allies soared up from behind the castle. They had been waiting for the signal, waiting for Paragor to send his dragons into the skies.

Trenna’s stomach did a flip as her white steed streaked straight up to get over the castle and then swooped down into formation. Queen Illaria led the team, most of whom flew with her in the Battle of the Blue Mountains. In seconds, they saw the enemy circling above the thoroughfare of Alleble like vultures.

When the Paragor dragons saw the force of Alleble approach, they wheeled about to face them. Trenna fitted a black shaft to the bowstring and took aim. The first enemy rider came into view, but just for a brief moment. The sight of the rider’s skull helmet threw off her aim. He dove quickly and Trenna’s shot went wide.