Knights: Book 03 - The Heart of Shadows (33 page)

Lannon did a somersault and then jumped to his feet,
drawing his blade. Calmly, the Guardian closed the open latch and then charged
at Lannon. Another flurry of sword strokes drove Lannon backwards again. Lannon
was at a severe disadvantage, for he couldn't harm his foe at all but a single
blow from the Guardian could kill him.

Lannon tried to drive his sword into the thin creases
between the armor plates, but each time the blade encountered something
impenetrable. Even the creases were staunchly defended, yet still allowed for
fluid movements. Lannon thought this Thallite armor might end up being the
death of him. He hoped Shennen would return to assist him, but aside from some
crashing noises in the woods, there was no sign of his presence.

The duel of swords wasn't working, and Lannon was
confronted by the Golden Knight's sinister will. The Guardian was using some
kind of mind power on him, trying to make him falter and surrender to fear.
Lannon struggled to resist, because most of the Eye's power was being channeled
into combat. Lannon realized he wasn't fighting a human foe. The Golden Knight
was simply too swift and powerful to be human. Yet Bellis refused to directly
use Goblins as warriors, so Lannon had no clue what sort of creature lurked
beneath that armor. Whatever it was, it was more powerful than any Goblin.

As the Guardian drove against Lannon with blade and will,
Lannon's legs began to weaken beneath him. He withdrew the Eye from his blade
and channeled it into his body. Then he seized the Golden Knight's arm and
ripped the sword from his hand. Lannon flung the sword aside and then sheathed
his own blade.

The Golden Knight had another weapon:
 
his golden fist. He slammed the metal
gauntlet down at Lannon's skull, but Lannon caught his arm and, summoning all
the strength he could muster, hurled the Guardian into a nearby oak tree. The
Knight struck the tree so hard that its branches shook, and then he slumped to
the ground, stunned.

Lannon ran to him, lifted him, and again slammed him into
the tree. Lannon's body was now charged with the full power of the Eye, giving
him the strength of a giant. The second blow was more devastating than the
first, and the Knight simply lay with his back to the tree trunk, his head
sagging forehead.

Lannon glanced at Ethella, but she was still close to
Omharal, her eyes wide with shock. Omharal too looked amazed at what Lannon had
done. Lannon quickly opened the three latches and yanked off the Guardian's
helm. He stepped back in surprise, and the helm dropped from his fingers.

Lannon was staring at a greenish-blue reptilian face. There
was no doubt the creature was some form of man-shaped reptile. Its snake-like
eyes gazed at Lannon and seemed to be trying to hypnotize him. Lannon
shuddered, sensing some great conspiracy would be revealed if he dared look
closer with the Eye. He tried to hold his power in check, not wanting to
glimpse things he didn't feel he was ready for, but a few images slipped
through. What Lannon saw was a banner of four stars, in a diamond pattern, that
was raised above the land and that represented four mighty kingdoms. In that
time of the darkest darkness and the brightest light, the Tower King would rule
with a scaly fist and a scepter bound in starlight, and he would fear a
sleeping warrior who dwelt across a sea of blackness.

Lannon shook his head, shrugging off the bizarre vision
revealed by the Eye. It made no sense to him--something from a distant age that
had no bearing on the present. Yet it was something that was linked to the
monster before him.

The creature was beginning to regain its senses. It started
to reach for Lannon, and he drew his sword and beheaded it. Lannon turned away,
feeling cold inside over what he'd witnessed. He pushed it from his mind. The
things the Eye revealed to him were often unsettling and impossible for him to
understand, and so they were best forgotten.

Moments later, Shennen stepped from the forest--holding the
golden helm of the Guardian he'd been battling. He flung the helm into the
trail.

Omharal was so stunned that the Guardians had been defeated
that he went into a coughing fit, with blood leaking from his mouth. He swayed
for a moment, looking dazed, and then toppled from his horse.

With a cry of despair, Ethella knelt by him.

Shennen and Lannon started toward them, but Ethella raised
a trembling hand. "Leave us alone!" she said. "I must take my lord
back to Old Hammer Hall, if it is his wish. Let us go peacefully and you will
not have to fight me."

"I must have healing," Omharal mumbled. He
coughed out more blood. Clearly, Timlin had brought him extremely close to
ruin. "Let us..." His eyes rolled back in his head. He shuddered once
and then lay still.

Ethella gazed down at him in despair. "My lord?"

Shennen nudged Lannon and pointed at the horses. Lannon
nodded, and they climbed into the saddles. They rode off down the trail,
leaving Ethella and Omharal to their fate.

***

"I believe Omharal is dead," said Shennen, as
they rode along the winding forest trail. "He was a disgrace to the
Birlotes, a ruthless killer of innocents. Yet Bellis has more so-called wizards
waiting to take his place."

"He must have tried to stop Timlin from fleeing Old
Hammer Hall," said Lannon. "He was probably caught by surprise--not
expecting Timlin to have such power."

"Yes," said Shennen, "though we'll likely
never know exactly what took place. Omharal was a powerful sorcerer. Yet I get
the feeling that Timlin defeated him with ease--along with Ethella. I wonder
why her injures were slight in comparison with Omharal's."

"Timlin was probably in a hurry," said Lannon,
"and Omharal was in his path, so the wizard got the worst of it--along
with those slain Soldiers we encountered."

Shennen glanced at him. "Yes, that makes sense."

Suddenly a figure stumbled into the trail, nearly getting
run over by the horses. It was Aldrek Windspear. He had burns on his cheeks and
forehead, and his hat was missing. His face was deathly pale and his eyes held
a wild look in the torchlight. He was clutching his ribs and looked to be in
agony.

"Everyone is dead!" Aldrek said, groaning.
"Killed by Timlin. We tried to sneak up on him but he saw through it. I
was at the rear, which is why I survived the...the dark sorcery. I fled into
the woods and he let me go."

Shennen bowed his head and sighed.

"Everyone is dead!" Aldrek repeated. "Blue
Knights, Legion Soldiers, Goblins--all blasted into ruin. He cannot be
defeated, Shennen!"

"We have to try," said Shennen. "Aldrek,
wait for us here. I can tell you're too injured to be of any help. If we don't
return, save yourself and retreat."

"But you will be killed too," said Aldrek.
"Even Lannon is no match for Timlin. We will lose the Eye of
Divinity!"

Shennen shook his head. "We came to get the Black
Flamestone, and we will proceed with the mission. We cannot allow this evil monster
to escape and terrorize the land. Lannon, you must remove the Flamestone from
his hand."

Lannon nodded, wondering if such a thing were possible.

Aldrek sat down with his back to a tree, looking defeated.

As they rode on, they discovered the bodies of those who'd
dared to challenge Timlin's might. Soon afterwards, they entered a small
clearing and encountered Timlin Woodmaster, who was standing in the snow
holding the Black Flamestone. Timlin's eyes were black in the torchlight, and
his face held an insane look. He was grinning and staring off into space. When
he noticed the riders, he fixed his gaze on them and the grin broadened.

"More of you, huh?" said Timlin.

Lannon quickly removed his mask, opting to try to reason
with him first. "Timlin, it's me! You're being influenced by that
Flamestone!"

Timlin shrugged. "So what, Lannon. You're influenced
by that wretched Eye. If people won't let me live in peace, then they will
surely die."

Shennen sat motionless on his horse, Flayer in hand.

"I want to let you live in peace," said Lannon,
"but the Black Flamestone will never allow it. It has turned you
into...something you're not supposed to be. It's destroying you, Timlin!"

Timlin laughed. "Do I seem like a wild beast to you,
old friend? Well, I am a wild beast that is being constantly hunted--a wild
beast who will fight furiously when cornered. The Black Flamestone has freed my
soul from the grasp of the Deep Shadow. Tharnin is gone from me, Lannon. Every
last bit of it. Now all I want is peace."

"A greater evil has replaced it," said Lannon.
"Now you're just a prisoner of that stone. It belongs to the Divine
Essence, Timlin. Hand it over and allow me to take it to Dremlock. Then you can
truly be at peace."

Timlin hesitated, then sighed. "Lannon Sunshield, fool
to the extreme. You want to save everyone, but this time you've got it wrong. I
don't need to be saved. I'm complete now in a way that, sadly, you can never
understand. All the bad things in my life have been erased, and now all that
matters is this." He held up the Black Flamestone. "I spent my
childhood beaten and starved by my father, living in a hole in the ground. And
my mother did nothing to protect me. It always made me hate life and myself.
But now I love life...because of this."

"Let it go, Timlin," Lannon pleaded.

"Okay," said Timlin. "I'll let it go!"
A beam of fire shot from the Flamestone at Shennen. The fire was like a shimmering
mass of dark-blue and red serpents, writhing furiously, and Lannon thought
Shennen was about to be burned to ash.

But the agile Blue Knight somehow had anticipated the
attack, and he was in the process of flinging himself from the saddle when the
beam struck. Shennen's horse was, sadly, completely obliterated and Shennen was
flung across the clearing--his armor split open and smoking. Shennen lay still,
possibly in death.

Horrified, Lannon seized the Black Flamestone with his
power and yanked it from Timlin's hand--all the while cursing himself for
trying to reason with Timlin. He brought the Flamestone to him and thrust it in
his cloak pocket.

"You struck down Shennen!" Lannon cried.

"I don't care!" Timlin hissed. "Anyone who
gets in my way must die!"

Lannon groaned, wishing Timlin could somehow catch a
glimpse of reason. "Haven't you done enough damage?"

Timlin's face contorted with rage and hatred. "It was
you fools who came after
me!
And now you're going to steal the Black
Flamestone from me, because I wouldn't give it willingly?" He still
appeared to be charged with dark energy, and he strode toward Lannon, drool
running from his mouth.

Lannon raised his sword. "Stay back, Timlin!"

Timlin paused, still seething with rage. "I'm ashamed
that I once called you a friend. You're nothing but a dirty, wretched
thief!" Timlin drew his Flayer, and it burst into dark-blue flames.
"You've earned yourself a death sentence this night, Lannon! You could
have stayed away from me and played your little Knightly games. Instead, you
dared to come steal from me that which has brought my life joy and meaning and
set me free!"

Lannon glanced at Shennen with the Eye, and found he was
injured but still alive. "I'm sorry, Timlin. But if you try to take back
the Flamestone, I'll be forced to kill you. And I don't want to do that. I
spared Vorden, but I won't be able to spare you...not with all that evil
sorcery inside you."

"I don't want to be spared," said Timlin.
"If I can't have the Black Flamestone, then I'd rather die. I ask for no
mercy, and I will give none!"

The power radiating from Timlin was so immense that it
overwhelmed Lannon, and something began to stir inside him. It was the Dark
Wave, the mysterious power released by the Eye on rare occasions. It was the
power that had blasted Tenneth Bard into ruin. It grew inside Lannon, and his
whole body began to tremble. Lannon realized that this could be his lucky
break, but he would only get one shot at Timlin. It would mean killing him, but
Lannon knew he couldn't hope to take him prisoner. Timlin was far too dangerous
for that.

As Timlin drove forward with his burning Flayer, Lannon
unleashed the Dark Wave straight at his chest--and missed. Somehow Timlin
dodged the beam of sorcery, twisting to one side. Lannon's energy struck an oak
tree instead, blasting it into fragments.

Instantly Lannon felt drained, and he collapsed to one
knee. Timlin resumed his charge and swung at Lannon's face, but Lannon blocked
the stroke and shoved Timlin backwards. With one hand, he took out his
Glaetherin throwing star.

Timlin shook with mindless rage. "You...you thieving wretch!"
He threw back his head and howled. Then he stumbled toward Lannon.

Lannon was down to his last shot. If he failed, he had
nothing left to counter Timlin's might. With a flick of his wrist, he flung the
throwing star at Timlin's chest--willing it along with all the power of the Eye
he had left. The blade shot out faster than an arrow and tore through Timlin's
stout armor--deep into his chest.

Timlin glanced down, his eyes smoldering. "What did
you...?"

Lannon yanked the star blade from Timlin's body.

Timlin staggered, his eyes wide. He clutched his chest.
"Only true Glaetherin could pierce this armor..." He sat down in the
snow, bleeding profusely.

"I'm sorry, Timlin," said Lannon, feeling
horrible inside.

"I think I'm dying," said Timlin. "Can I
hold the Black Flamestone one last time? If I die, I will never...never get to
hold it again..."

Lannon shook his head, hating what things had come to.

Timlin growled and tried to rise, but slumped down
again--facedown in the snow. "I did this all to myself, didn't I? I'm the
one to blame?"

"I don't know," said Lannon, sighing. Certainly
Timlin wasn't to blame for what had happened in his youth, but betraying
Dremlock and joining the Blood Legion had been his choice. He could have
battled his demons instead of surrendering to them. Still, Lannon had no answer
for him. "You did your best, I guess. But at least it's over now. And at
least you're no longer a puppet of the Deep Shadow. Goodbye, my friend."