King Of Souls (Book 2) (54 page)

Ronan nodded. “That’s good.” His tone suggested little optimism. “Rika said the city has only three working ballista. Is that true?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m sorry,” Sir Alcott said.

Ronan’s gaze shifted between Rika and Sir Alcott. “How am I supposed to defend Meranthia with no army and no weapons? Even with Devery’s army, the dragons would outmatch us.”

“Maybe you could speak with Trace,” Sir Alcott said. “Might he listen to reason?”

“He burned Danielle alive and murdered thousands in the Heartwood,” Ronan said. “I won’t trust a word he says.”

Ronan stood and faced the great bay window. He remained silent for several long minutes staring toward Thoth’s motionless body. “Sir Alcott, bring me Elan’s Sphere please.”

Rika’s stomach dropped, and her legs turned weak and rubbery. “No Ronan. Please don’t do this.”

Ronan’s cool gaze met Rika’s. “What choice do I have?”

“Shattering the sphere will kill you,” Rika said.

“But you’ll be safe.” His gaze returned to the streets beneath the palace district.

Workers continued to load fresh corpses into an already full wagon bed.

“You’ll all be safe.”

Shattered

A field of stars spread across the clear night sky like an exquisite work of art. Temperatures had plummeted since nightfall freezing the melting snow that started with yesterday’s sunshine.

Ronan walked beneath the iron gate he’d crossed as a prisoner last summer. His fingers interlaced with Rika’s, he paused and took in the arena’s transformation.

The pleasant aroma of pine smoke drifted from twin bonfires roaring at the arena’s far end. Starlight and firelight mingled. The affect created an otherworldly glow across the coliseum's pristine snowdrifts and dangling icicles.

Interrupting the festive scene, Thoth’s mangled and battered body lay between roaring bonfires. A narrow shoveled path led from the gate’s entrance ending near the bonfires and Thoth’s resting body.

Puffs of steam billowed from Ronan’s nose. He tightened his grip on a leather shoulder pack before stepping onto the narrow path.

Rika held Ronan’s hand in a vice grip as if letting go might kill her. She tugged on Ronan’s arm as he tried walking forward and held him firmly in place.

Ronan’s stomach churned, but he wouldn’t turn to face her. If he did, he might lose his courage, and his worst fears would come to pass. He couldn’t watch her die like he had his mother. If had to give his life to save hers, he’d pay the price. Shattering Elan’s Sphere would save Rika and every other soul huddled inside Freehold’s walls. “Please don’t make this any harder.” Ronan’s voice betrayed the raw emotion stirring inside him.

Rika’s voice cracked as she spoke through choked sobs. “I won’t let you do it. I can’t watch you die.” She tightened her grip on Ronan’s hand. “Please don’t leave me.”

Ronan’s shoulders sagged, and his head dropped. “Rika, I can’t win.”

“Look at me Ronan.”

He shook his head without turning. “I can’t.”

“You owe it to me,” she said voice trembling.

Ronan let go a held breath and nodded. He closed his eyes and turned to face the only woman he’d ever loved. He opened his eyes and met Rika’s bleary, red eyes filled with unbearably deep pain.

Tears streaked the curves of Rika’s perfect face, and her gaze held his.

Ronan’s chest tightened, and his chin quivered. “Rika, if I had another way —”

“What if I told you…?” Rika’s words drifted off as she lowered her gaze and stared at her feet.

“Told me what?”

“Let’s leave this place Ronan,” Rika said. “We can run away and hide. Just you and me.”

“Rika, I can’t. I —”

Rika held up her hand interrupting him. “I know.”

Ronan wrapped his hand around Rika’s waist and pressed into her.

Fresh tears washed down Rika’s cheeks.

He scooped her hair behind her ear the way she always did. “I love you Rika Finn.” He smiled. “But you already know that.”

Rika slid her arms around Ronan and laid her cheek against his chest.

They stood silent and still as the night’s gentle winds turned up loose snow. It swirled in haphazard circles atop the nearby snowdrifts. A dragon’s distant shriek broke the spell, and Rika’s body stiffened.

Ronan stepped back, and a deep ache settled in his chest. He found Rika’s hands and squeezed. “It’s time.”

Rika offered the barest nod, but her tears never stopped falling.

Ronan looked into her face, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He understood and wouldn’t push. He turned and took a tentative step onto the narrow path.

This time Rika didn’t resist and followed never letting go of Ronan’s hand.

Ronan opened his mind to the dragon laying broken and still where the path ended. “Thoth, are you awake? Can you hear me?”

A dim awareness shimmered in the link as Thoth’s mind stirred. “Silver Soul, is that you?”

Ronan reached the path’s end and stood before the great dragon. He pressed his hand against Thoth’s long snout. “Yes Thoth, it’s me,” Ronan said. “I came to heal your wounds before the end. The free dragons in the southern mountains will give you refuge.”

A deep buzz drifted from Thoth’s chest. “The herd approaches the city. They fly a hundred strong, each carrying two riders. You must make preparations.”

“I’m afraid I won’t live to see the end of this battle, but I can keep the world safe.”

“The thought of serving Trace makes my blood run cold, and he won’t stop until he’s enslaved every living dragon,” Thoth said. “I’d prefer to die under my own terms. Thank you for your offer, but I’ll not take your magic this day.”

A dragon’s roar bellowed across the frozen city coming from somewhere inside Freehold’s walls.

“They’ve arrived Silver Soul. They’ve said the emperor won’t stop until the entire city burns,” Thoth said. “Take your leave.”

Near Freehold’s northern wall, fire erupted from a granary storage silo. Three dragon silhouettes glided above it.

Ronan lifted his palm from Thoth’s snout, and the dragon’s sapphire eyes drifted shut. “Goodbye my friend. It’s been an honor.”

Without responding, Thoth severed the mental bridge connecting his and Ronan’s minds.

A second column of flame shot skyward over the Guildsman’s District in southern Freehold.

Ronan faced Rika. “It’s time.” He moved near the northern bonfire and slipped the pack from his shoulder.

An explosion boomed behind the royal palace, and a dragon’s roar echoed from the coliseum’s empty seats.

Ronan flinched, and his pulse quickened. People died while he dallied. He knelt and opened the leather pack.

Elan’s Sphere floated free, and blue, yellow, and white light reflected off Thoth’s ebony scales.

Ronan anchored his mind to the sphere’s heart. He pulled it forward until it stopped beside him hovering just over the arena sand. “Stand back Rika. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Rika ignored Ronan and knelt behind him resting her hand on his back. “I’ll not leave your side.”

A heavy ache settled in his chest. She’d stayed with him through countless ups and downs even when he put her in danger, and he repaid her loyalty by abandoning her.

Fire leaped from a dragon’s open mouth as it strafed the citadel raining fire over its snow covered rooftop.

“Rika, when I shatter the sphere, set aside the largest two shards,” Ronan said. “Give them to your children when they’re old enough.”

“I’ll not have another man’s child Ronan Latimer. Hold your tongue.”

“Rika, please,” Ronan said.

“I’ll hold the shards, but I’ll give them to Danielle’s children,” Rika said. “That’s all I’ll promise.” The bonfire’s orange glow, the field of stars, and Elan’s Sphere merged bathing Rika’s skin in dazzling light.

Ronan closed his eyes and nodded before sparing Rika one final glance. He could live a thousand lives and not find a woman to match her beauty. “I love you Rika Finn.” He swallowed chasing away dryness coating his throat. “You’ve my whole heart.” He kissed her lips and smiled wiping the wetness from her cheeks.

A dragon’s roar, unlike any Ronan had heard, rattled the coliseum’s wall. Hundreds of icicles dangling from the arena’s upper rim shook loose and clattered on the empty seats below.

The short hair on Ronan’s neck stiffened, and his flesh crawled. He couldn’t put off the moment any longer.

A low hum buzzed from Elan’s Sphere as its lights swirled racing across the shimmering surface.

Ronan reached out and laid his fingertips on the sphere’s surface.

The sphere responded moving energy toward his touch like a child greeting his father after a long day’s absence. Energy extended from the sphere’s surface and gathered over Ronan’s flattened palm.

Ronan closed his eyes and opened his mind easing his hand inward toward the heart pulsing at its core. Warmth spread through his hand. It moved along his arm, shoulder, and chest before filling his body with soothing relief.

A dragon’s roar boomed fifty yards overhead.

Ronan recognized its sound as the dragon who’d shattered the icicles moments ago. The creature’s tone felt primal and ancient carrying menace unlike any in Trace’s herd.

Ronan’s hand slid around Elan’s Heart. Despite the freezing temperature, sweat beaded on his forehead. It trickled down his cheek before dripping into the arena’s half-frozen sand. He focused his mind on Elan’s Heart and pulled on a vast flow of energy.

Rika clutched at Ronan’s damp tunic. She balled the cloth into her fist and sobbed. “No! Please God no!” She buried her head in his shoulder, and her body shook.

Ronan’s mind latched onto a bright kernel of energy pulsing at the heart’s center and yanked.

Elan’s Sphere lit ablaze with color. It brightened into a burning globe spilling dazzling light across the coliseum’s snow-covered sand.

Ronan gasped as the warmth in his arm changed to a burning heat. His eyes shot open, and he stared into the sphere bracing for the end.

The air surrounding the sphere shimmered with glassy waves of energy. A loud boom sent Ronan’s arm flying backward.

Elan’s Sphere repelled him. He sailed twenty-feet through the air before crashing into a deep snowdrift near the arena’s center.

The energy radiating from Elan’s Sphere dimmed. Its swirling blue, yellow, and white light returned to normal where it remained hovering near the bonfire.

Rika’s lips turned upward in a slight smile despite the disaster unfolding around them.

Ronan blinked and stared into Elan’s Sphere as if snake-bitten. How in Elan’s name had that happened?

Loose snow swirled as a wind gust tore across the coliseum leaving the air awash in blinding white. A deep, rumbling tremor shook the ground near the arena’s far end.

Ronan squinted and raised his hand shielding his eyes from the swirling ice and snow.

A pair of glowing ruby eyes pierced the gusting snow, hanging disembodied thirty feet over the arena floor.

Ronan stood and trudged through waist-deep snow until he stood beside Rika. He offered her his hand never taking his eyes from the creature standing inside the arena.

Rika slipped her hand into Ronan’s and stood beside him staring into the swirling snow.

When the snow settled, a riderless dragon with heavy bone-white scales appeared. Its size doubled the largest dragon in Trace’s herd. Even Abzu and Tiamat couldn’t match the dragon’s staggering size. Six-inch thick armored plates gleamed in the nearby firelight. The dragon’s loose skin hanging beneath its neck and stomach showed deep lines and creases. Its twenty-foot tail coiled around its tree-trunk thick forelimbs like a resting serpent.

The dragon folded its wings and lumbered forward shaking the ground with each step. Jagged icicles broke free from the coliseum’s upper deck. They shattered against snow-covered stone benches below.

Thoth’s eyes opened, and he lifted his head staring wide-eyed at the approaching dragon. His eyes came alive with curiosity showing no hint of fear or anger.

Ronan stepped forward tilting his head upward taking in the dragon’s enormous scale.

The dragon returned his gaze showing no signs of outward aggression.

For reasons beyond explanation, Ronan felt comfortable in the dragon’s presence.

From behind Ronan, a low buzzing sound came from Thoth’s chest. His eyes caught the firelight sparkling with renewed energy.

Rika moved behind Ronan and peered over his shoulder. “What does it want?” She spoke in a low hushed tone.

Ronan smiled and nodded, his mind connecting puzzle pieces that now appeared obvious. “It’s fine.” He squeezed Rika’s hand and gazed into the dragon’s eyes. “That’s Moira.”

Rika gasped and stepped forward standing beside Ronan.

At the path’s edge the dragon shifted. A little old woman bound in rich furs and heavy blankets appeared in its place trudging along the snowy path toward Ronan. She’d replaced her lost walking stick with one that appeared identical in every way.