Divided (#1 Divided Destiny) (29 page)

“Now fire at its neck,” Don shouted, raising his rifle to do just that.

Most of the bullets bounced off, but there were slits in the dragon’s neck for breathing. A couple of bullets hit the fleshy part in the slit. Another roar of pure pain.

With a yell, Mathis sprinted from the tree line. He held his sword aloft, ready to strike. He was right in Nick’s line of fire, but both Leo and Don saw his movement and kept firing. They just had to keep the dragon’s attention for a little longer. Make it focus on the annoying marines, keep it shuffling after them as they ran circles around it, avoiding the flame and keeping well out of reach of its claws and tail. If they could keep the dragon’s eyes on them, it would hopefully miss the armored knight charging to cut its head off.

Again, they couldn’t be that lucky.

Mathis was almost there. The sword whistled through the air, coming down to strike, and the dragon’s tail swung out, flicking faster than a man could blink. The tail hit Mathis square in the chest, whipping him backwards. He landed hard on the ground, knocking all the air from his lungs.

Leo fired several more bursts as he sprinted forward, but the dragon wasn’t interested in the insects stinging it. There was a juicy target lying helplessly just feet away. There would be no turning it from its course. There was still C4 in his hand. Leo dropped his weapon, letting it hang from his vest. Using both hands, he armed the block of explosives.

“Take cover!” Leo screamed.

He threw the block of C4 like it was a grenade. It was a risk, as the dragon was so close to Mathis, but if he did nothing then Mathis was dead for sure. As soon as the explosives left his hand, Leo turned and threw himself to the ground, covering his head.

There was a loud boom, a roar, and a crash.

Leo rolled over and leapt to his feet. His ears were ringing from the explosion. He staggered, black spots in his eyes. Blood spurted from a massive wound on the dragon’s neck. The C4 had torn out a chunk of its flesh. It was writhing in agony, in its death throes.

The blood came as a shock to Leo. At a distance, seeing the wings, he’d thought it could have been mechanical fluid leaking from the holes, but now there could be no mistake. This wasn’t a machine; it was a flesh and blood animal.

An animal that had survived being buried under a ton of rock. An animal that had been programmed beyond what training could account for. They had enraged it beyond all reason. There must have been something controlling it, or it would have forgotten its directives and destroyed them.

For all Leo’s skepticism, it was getting harder to deny that there was more here than could be understood by mere technology. If Roswell Grey aliens were real, then why not magic? Magic certainly seemed pretty real at that moment.

Mathis was unmoving on the ground, several feet from the dying dragon. Leo staggered forward and snatched up the sword Mathis had dropped. He’d not used a sword before, but it wasn’t exactly rocket science.

Leo swung it down in a chopping motion, like he was chopping wood. The sword bit deeply into the dying dragon’s neck. Leo raised it again, blood spraying through the air. It fell once more, then again and again until the neck was cut clean through. The sharp blade of the sword had no trouble breaking bone. The dragon heaved its last.

It was finally over.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Mathis!” Nick shouted, dropping to his knees next to the fallen knight.

It didn’t look good. Mathis didn’t respond, didn’t move. He looked like he had been dipped in blood. His eyes were closed, and with all the armor, it wasn’t as if Nick could see whether his chest was moving.

“Is he dead?” Leo asked wearily.

Leo dropped Mathis’s sword. It bounced off the ground with a clang. He staggered away from the corpse of the dead dragon. Blood still trickled from the dragon’s wounds, soaking into the dirt and spreading in a circle around the body. Idly, Leo wondered if dragon’s blood was as valuable a magic ingredient in this world as it was in fiction.

Nick pressed two fingers hard against Mathis’s neck, searching for his pulse. A grin spread across his face. The blood didn’t belong to the knight; he’d just been splattered in the dragon’s gore when it had exploded.

“Yeah, pulse is strong. I think he’s just out cold. If we take the armor off, Cyrus’s miracle ointment should fix him up,” Nick said. His hands hovered over the armor, puzzled he stared at it, trying to find the catch so the chestplate could be removed.

Don jogged over and knelt the other side of Mathis’s prone form. “I know, man. You know, I bet he has someone dress him at the barracks.”

Nick snorted. Mathis had certainly never taken the armor off while they’d traveled with him. However, armor was fairly useless if it wasn’t being worn. If the knight got ambushed, he couldn’t say ‘Wait ten minutes, I need to armor up’ to his attackers.

A few minutes later, between them, Nick and Don managed to take off Mathis’s chestplate. There was a padded tunic underneath. When they finally exposed the knight’s hairy chest, there didn’t appear to be any surface bruising. That didn’t mean that there weren’t internal injuries.

Nick applied the salve to the knight’s chest, neck, and the back of his head. Less than a minute later, Mathis’s eyes fluttered as he woke up. He immediately tried to sit up. Don placed a hand on the knight’s shoulder.

“Easy there, take a minute. Didn’t anyone ever tell you knights can’t fly?” Don joked.

Mathis looked at Don curiously, and then his eyes fell on the corpse of the headless dragon. His eyes widened in disbelief. “Oh, by the spirits…I see it, but…you truly are warriors of great power.”

“It wasn’t acting on its own, someone had…spelled it,” Leo warned, stumbling over his phrasing.

Bizarre as it was, it seemed to be the truth, and magic was something the knight understood. Mathis likely wouldn’t have known what programming was.

“Now I suppose it’s possible that it happened by accident and no one was controlling it, but”—Leo shrugged—“I’m not a big believer in coincidence. You got any idea who would gain the most from a dragon terrorizing Kaslea?”

“I do not wish to believe it of any kingdom,” Mathis admitted grimly. “If the beast was being controlled, whomever is responsible is without honor. Ordering a beast to savage innocents is the mark of true evil. I would not wish to accuse anyone of such an act without just cause.”

“Fair enough.” Leo nodded. It wasn’t their problem anyway; they had done their part. “I don’t really want to camp here, but there’s a clearing half a mile back in the forest. That should do for the night.”

Mathis shook his head. “No. It is more than a full day’s ride back to the city. Prince Edmund must be informed at once that the dragon is no more. We must start back without delay.” He slowly got to his feet and pulled his padded tunic back on.

Leo sighed tiredly and looked at Don and Nick. They both looked ready to drop, and he was certainly flagging. The knight might have had an easy afternoon, but they had scrambled halfway up a mountain and back down again. However, Leo was as eager as Mathis was to return to the city as soon as possible. He really didn’t want to waste any time either. They could certainly stand to travel a few hours; that would ensure they arrived by nightfall tomorrow.

Within fifteen minutes, they were ready to ride. Mathis led the way back towards Termont. He picked the way through the shadows of the forest, the only illumination the silvery light of the moon that made its way through the canopy of leaves. After a couple of hours, they found a dirt path that led to the city. Just over an hour later, Leo was ready to call a halt, when they saw the warm glow of a banked fire a hundred yards from the path.

Mathis dismounted and strode towards the camp. There was one knight—another envoy of Kaslea, judging from the colors—sleeping by the fire. Before Mathis could get within striking range, the knight rolled over and drew his sword.

Ten minutes later, after much exclaiming, statements of disbelief, and to the three marines’ embarrassment, bowing, the other envoy was ready to depart. He was fresher than they were, and was willing to ride all night to get to the city. They would rest at his camp until dawn. He would carry the triumphant news to Prince Edmund that the dragon had finally been slain.

The next day, there was quite the celebration going by the time Leo and the others reached the city. They arrived just as the sun was setting, and the festivities had been going for hours. The envoy had arrived mid-morning, and the news had quickly spread.

When they reached the city entrance, they dismounted and led the horses by the reins. Leo couldn’t help but smile. Screams rent the air. These weren’t screams of fear; they were squeals of delight from overexcited children. They were dancing around small bonfires, holding streamers in their tiny hands.

There was nothing more to fear. The city glowed with light and happiness. The dragon was dead; they were finally safe. The joy was infectious, and it was like an infusion of hope. Today, they had brought freedom and safety to Kaslea. Soon, they hoped to see scenes like this replicated back on Earth.

Night might have fallen, but the path was lit bright as day, torches every few feet. The flag of Kaslea always flew from the palace, but Leo could now see the flag fluttering in the night breeze all over the city. Squires hurried over, leading the horses away to the stables and taking their heavy packs to the barracks.

Mathis led the way to the palace. It was becoming quite a familiar sight, although part of Leo hoped that this would be the last time. He just wanted to meet with Prince Edmund. They had fulfilled their end of the bargain; it was time for Kaslea to do the same.

Bunting had been strung around the courtyard. A footman met Mathis at the palace door, whispering intently. Mathis turned to the three marines.

“It seems Prince Edmund is throwing a ball in our honor. First we shall feast.” Mathis smiled jubilantly. Leo frowned, and Mathis held up his hand. “Have no fear, friends. Prince Edmund will meet with you after the feast. You will have what you have been promised.”

Don shrugged. “Everyone’s got to eat.”

The castle ballroom was decorated elaborately. There were hundreds of candles in an extravagant display. Great tables with clean white tablecloths and more silverware than the three marines had ever seen. Why was there a need for so many forks?

In the corner, an orchestral band was starting to set up, readying themselves for the ball later. The footman led the ‘four heroes of Kaslea’ to the main head table. The rest of the seats were already filled. The table contained Prince Edmund, his betrothed Princess Maria, the dowager Queen Isabella, and a couple of important-looking people Leo didn’t know.

When everyone was seated, a bell was rung by a liveried footman and Prince Edmund stood to make a speech.

“For many moons, this kingdom has lived in fear. Besieged by a dragon, a foe we could not reason with nor defeat. Many brave knights gave their lives attempting to slay this beast. Three strangers came before me, envoys from the unknown regions. They are strangers no more; they have become true friends of Kaslea…”

*****

After the feast, once the food was cleared away and the dancing began, the three marines were led to the library. When they arrived, Prince Edmund wasn’t yet there. However, the sorcerer Cyrus was in the corner, eyeing them with amusement.

“Your ritual was a load of crap,” Leo told him boldly, breaking the silence.

Cyrus smirked. “Really? I thought it worked perfectly.”

“You bastard,” Don exclaimed. “You meant for us to deal with the dragon. You manipulative son of a bitch.”

“Was there ever any ritual, or was it all just a lie?” Nick asked quietly.

Cyrus shrugged. “There are many rituals. Many rituals that do many things, many sources of light and magic, much belief. Oh yes, the rituals do not lie.”

“Don’t you get tired of doing that?” Leo rolled his eyes.

Cyrus had pulled his confused old man cloak on again, but they were no longer biting. It was just his way of getting out of questions he didn’t want to answer. It was irritating, but they’d come to expect it. Leo just wanted Cyrus to know he wasn’t fooling them anymore.

The door opened. Prince Edmund had arrived.

“We owe you a great debt,” Prince Edmund started. “Words alone cannot convey my gratitude. Our problems were not yours. You could have returned after the ritual failed; you had done as you had been asked, and I would have honored our agreement. Instead, you acted with honor and you saved my kingdom. I have what you asked for.”

Prince Edmund walked over to the small table at the end of the library. It was nestled between two armchairs, the right height for drinks to be placed. However, today its surface contained several scrolls. Prince Edmund picked them up and handed them to Leo.

“The longest scroll contains all the information that could be found in five days on the legend of the light in the darkness. It is possible more information may yet be discovered. The envoys from the furthest kingdoms have not yet returned,” Prince Edmund explained. “I must caution you, the origins of the legend are steeped in darkness. We do not speak of it. It was a dark time in our history, and we have tried our best to forget.”

Leo nodded, unsurprised. The platform would have been discovered on Earth long ago if there had been a lot of traffic through it. It only made sense that on this side it was hidden under a web of superstition.

He opened the scroll. It was written in beautiful calligraphy, but unfortunately the details were decidedly sketchy. A cave of light, a story of how a group had found it on a trek. The light had skewered a knight and taken him away. The other knights who had been with him had hacked at the pedestal with their swords, but hadn’t even scratched the metal.

A grin spread across his face. They were definitely talking about the platform. That meant it did exist and it could be found. There was a way home—not that he had ever really doubted that. The next part talked about the beliefs people had held about this cave of light. For instance, the legend had begun as that of the ‘legend of the dark light,’ the tale being it would pierce your soul and damn it forever.