A Crown Of War (Book 4) (3 page)

The
Other peered out over the ash-covered land and shuddered as the power of Adromida coursed through him. He sheathed the ancient blade and turned to his army. He had done what Whill would not; he had destroyed the entire Draggard force. The elves and dwarves stared at the destruction, dumbfounded. The horde that once stretched for miles was gone, as were the monolithic crystals, and, more importantly, the rifts.

The
dwarves burst into cheers, and the elves quickly joined in the celebration. But, soon the cheering subsided and the reality of the situation set in, and they found themselves trapped somewhere in Drindellia. They knew that thousands of miles away and across the sea, the dark elf armies wreaked havoc.

“
Ye did it, lad, you destroyed ’em all,” said Roakore, as he came to stand next to Whill.

“
It is good to see you again, Roakore.”

Roakore
eyed him oddly and noticed the cuts and scars, the bloody nose and eyes.

“
Yer hurt a bit, lad,” he said, looking uncharacteristically concerned.

The
Other shrugged. “From the blast. It shall pass.”

Avriel
and Zerafin approached and gazed out over the destruction. Avriel noticed the Other but said nothing. If Zerafin recognized a change in Whill, he did well to hide it.

“
The rifts have been destroyed; we are trapped here,” said Zerafin.

Roakore
beheld the smoldering battlefield as if for the first time. He had been so caught up in the victory he missed the ramifications of the rifts being destroyed. .

“
We be trapped?” he yelled, looking around frantically. "And thousands o’ miles away?”

Roakore
grabbed the Other by the armor and gave him a shake. “Open it back up. The rifts, they be leading to the Dwarf Mountains, I tell ye. We gots to be gettin’ home!”

The
Other swung his arms up, loosening himself from the distraught dwarf.

“
Calm yourself! We will find a way,” he said.

“
Across the sea be the only way. Ye plan on buildin’ us a magic boat?” Roakore huffed.

“
Upon the castle grounds of Del’Oradon is a tomb. Within lies one of Arkron’s lost gates, which leads here,” said the Other.

Roakore
squared on him once again. “And this be a chunk o’ land how big? Nearly five times the size o’ Agora!”

“
Then we had better start looking,” Whill said, ignoring Roakore’s gaze. “This was likely Eadon’s main force; he will not have ventured far. Where we find the portal, we find him.”

“
You mean to face him then?” Avriel asked from behind him.

The
Other turned to her and grinned. “I mean to kill him.”

Zerafin
stepped forward. “Whill is right. Eadon will be close if he is here at all. We are trapped, but the rifts have been closed−we can only pray there are not more. I shall set the Ralliad to the task of seeking out Eadon’s base.”

He
turned back to a waiting general. “Gather the Ralliad for a briefing. Set everyone else to procuring a defensible location.”

The
general bowed and went off to carry out his orders.

“
Zorriaz and I shall begin scouting to the north,” Avriel suggested.

“
And we be searchin’ to the south,” said Roakore, referring to himself and Silverwind.

“
Very well,” said Zerafin. “Whill, you should−”

The
Other shot into the air and flew out to the east so quickly he soon disappeared from sight.

Roakore
mounted Silverwind and took a long pull from his water pouch. Holdagozz followed him and scowled up at his king with worry not befitting a dwarf.

“
I ain’t likin’ this, me king, I ain’t likin’ this at all. Rifts and portals and jumpin’ to another land with a footstep. Dark magic we be meddlin’ with, and we be trapped. Our rations won’t last a month. Naught but death be here. As we speak, our kin be fightin’ a likely invasion.”

“
Aye, I be agreein’ with ye. We be up shyte creek. But we ain’t gonna complain ourselves out o’ this. I made our feelings known, but now is time for action. We find the portal, we find a way home. You just keep these knuckleheads busy till then,” Roakore ordered.

“
Yes, me king!” Holdagozz had to yell over Silverwind’s flapping wings.

“
I be countin’ on ye, General,” Roakore yelled as he and Silverwind took to the sky.

Avriel and a host of elven druids took flight also, and began their assigned scouting missions. The elves took the form of eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls. Some branched out into groups; others flew alone.

Upon
each of their heads, the elves wore a small gem; with them, the general of the Ralliad would scry their progress, seeing through their eyes. Roakore and Avriel too had been given such a gem, attached to a circlet and using the same magic as the Looking Glass of Araveal.

He
ading north with the others, Avriel wondered about Whill. She knew his alter ego had taken control, but she had not determined if that was a bad thing. He destroyed the entire dark elf army with one massive spell, the likes of which few had ever seen. She knew Whill now had the full backing and confidence of not only the elven armies, but also her brother. He was Whill, or at least, a part of his mind. She believed the Other was Whill’s tortured self, the one who remembered it all. She had no way of knowing Whill was a prisoner within the Other’s world of nightmares.

The
Other was fulfilling the ancient prophecy, and Avriel decided that no matter Whill’s current plight, it did not outweigh the good that would be done by his alter ego. Only a flicker of doubt nagged at the back of her mind, warning her of danger, but again, the results quieted those thoughts for the time being.

Whill screamed, and his tortured voice echoed throughout the dark chambers of his mind, chambers that once held the Other. He fell so deep into the memory illusions of his prison, he began to forget what was real. Chained to the wall, he remained helpless to the ever-shifting memories of torture. The most brutal sessions replayed in living color, and, ever so slowly, Whill lost himself to the pain. The Other had not only gained control, but would soon destroy him.

Whill
found himself laid out on a table. A cage of seething rats and a large assortment of knives lay on the opposite table. Above him, his hated dark elf torturer grinned down on him.

Eldon Island remained as quiet and peaceful as Dirk remembered. The only people who called it home were the tribal Eldonians, and no trouble was to be found from them. They stayed to themselves and lived mostly on the northern and eastern shores of Eldon. Krentz had flown Dirk to the southern coast, and they had yet to be discovered by anyone.

M
orning had come, and Dirk gazed upon Krentz in the light of the new sun. She was fading. The beams penetrated her body, illuminating it softly from within. The tattoos on her body swirled and danced lazily as she smiled up at him.

“
I am tired, Dirk. I must return to the spirit world.”

Dirk
turned his head in sorrow and reached for his cloak. From an inside pocket, he retrieved the relic.

“
What is it like there?” he asked.

“
Like a dream,” she purred. “Chief’s spirit home is a dark winter forest teeming with streams and wild game. I was there for only minutes, but I spent hours.”

Di
rk gave a smile hearing the experience was at least pleasant for her. “I could come with you.”

“
Are you mad?” she said, aghast.

“
You say I die because of you,” he reminded her with an arched eyebrow. “Perhaps we can be rid of the cursed vision also. Suppose I can be taken by Chief as well. We might watch the ages pass, together.”

“
Who would summon us, who would keep us? If another obtained the trinket, would we have to obey them? Should the trinket become lost, would we be trapped in the spirit world forever?” she asked.

“
You can’t emerge from the relic at will?” Dirk inquired.

“
No,” she admitted. “Had you not summoned me, I would not have gotten out. I heard your words loud throughout the spirit world. Your beckoning drew me forth, and, before me, a doorway to this world opened. When I came through, I found you on the ground, disoriented, and you soon passed out.”

Dirk
remembered seeing her fighting the dark elf and dwargon as flames leapt all around them. Krentz had shifted in and out of spirit form, disorienting and getting under the guard of her enemies.

“
Shifting to spirit form during combat…how did you learn that?” he asked, interested in the concept.

She
chuckled. “Chief taught me. Did I mention he can talk in his spirit realm?”

“
Yeah.” Dirk shook his head unable to imagine the conversation. Krentz had become almost entirely translucent, and her whispered words became nearly inaudible. Dirk moved to push back the hair from her face, but found no form. His hand went through her and found only dancing sunlight.

“
Goodnight, my love,” she smiled.

“
Back to the spirit world, Krentz,” Dirk managed to utter. She turned into a wisp and spiraled into the timber wolf relic.

He let her stay in the spirit world all of the day, not knowing how much time she would need to recuperate. He noticed the more she or Chief held their physical form, the longer they had to remain within their own realm.

He
spent the day inspecting and repairing his gear. The cloak’s enchantments had been drained protecting him from the explosion of the dark elf war machine. His weapons and darts had been spared any serious damage, but he was running low.

N
ight came, and he could wonder no more about Krentz. He summoned Chief, and the spirit wolf solidified, bounding around Dirk like a puppy.

“
Is she well?” Dirk asked hesitantly.

Chief
trotted and barked and was distracted by the smells of the world. Dirk snapped his fingers to get Chief’s attention.

“
Hey, is she ready or not?”

Chief
barked once and went about sniffing the perimeter. Dirk held the relic aloft and called to his beloved.

“
Join me once more, fair Krentz.”

The
relic glowed bright as a glowing mist swirled out and around his body. Krentz solidified before him; she seemed to have rested well. He reached out and touched her face, amazed that, once again, they were free.

“
Did it seem a long time?” he asked.

“
T’was days,” she said, kissing him. She noticed the nighttime. “How long has it been?”

“
I sent you back just this morning,” he told her.

“
The waiting is unbearable,” she pouted. “Do not leave me to wait so long again.”

Dirk
nodded. “I believe you will tire less easily in the physical plane if you remain more often in spirit form.”

“
Yes, I suppose,” she admitted sullenly and shifted out of physical form. She became a wisp of light, which danced around Dirk and to his ear.

“
But you will miss looking upon me,” she teased with a faraway giggle.

Dirk
smiled as her spirit brushed against him and a warmth seeped through.

“
Show me how you can fight now,” he said as her spirit wound around his body. Dirk felt a kick to the back and dove into a roll with the momentum. He spun as he came up and was ready with a sweeping kick, but she was gone. He circled and backed into the shadows of the forest, and, even though his boots snapped twigs, they did not give a sound.

“
This isn’t fair,” Dirk laughed at the night.

“
My love,” came her voice echoed through the forest. “Fair doesn’t exist. Have I taught you nothing?”

Dirk
’s senses gave warning, and he ducked back as Krentz’s fist materialized and cut through the air. Dirk grabbed the arm, which turned to smoke in his hand. He defensively jumped back and was proven correct when Krentz materialized, coming down with a kick from on high. She charged him, and, as he moved to block, she disappeared and reemerged directly behind him in a heartbeat. She shifted in front of him, and Dirk threw a quick elbow behind him.

Krentz
materialized behind him, caught his elbow, and tried to move into a hold. Dirk quickly shifted into the proper countermove, as she had anticipated. She brought up a foot to his face as he spun out of the arm lock, but he was yet a step ahead. Just as he loosened his arm from her grasp, he grabbed the foot flying for his head. He ducked between her legs and rolled backward, pulling the leg with her. Krentz shifted her leg to a wisp of smoke, and Dirk rolled to stand behind her.

They
faced each other yet again. Krentz flinched a feint, and Dirk tensed. She grinned.

“
Wait until you see what else I can do in this form,” she laughed and disappeared.

Dirk
was slammed to the ground as Krentz solidified, straddling him.