Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (68 page)

“
Son!
”

“Mother!” Lusam gasped, as he was slammed violently back into his own body a heartbeat later by some incredible magical force. A distant voice rang in his ears, one that he instantly recognised as Lord Zelroth’s, but the meaning of the words were lost to him, as his vision faded to black and he slipped into unconsciousness.

*****

Zedd watched in absolute terror as the second man was selected to be fed to the
Aznavor
by the Inquisitor. The large floating disc now rippled like a pool of quicksilver in front of Lord Zelroth, made even larger by the previous victim’s sacrifice. The man screamed in sheer terror as the Inquisitor took control of his body, and slowly walked him towards his certain death. The
Aznavor
shrieked and strained at its bonds, trying its best to mentally reach the condemned man. Its six long tentacles groping towards him as he came ever closer. Just before he came within range of the creature’s influence, the Inquisitor broke off his own connection with the man, and one of the Darkseed Elite pushed the man forward. The
Aznavor
instantly gripped the man’s mind, taking control of his every movement for itself. The man begged and pleaded for his life, but it was already far too late for him, as he was forced to unwillingly walk towards his own end. The creature’s huge jaws opened wide, revealing its wicked curved black fangs, each one longer than a man’s hand. Inside its gaping mouth only blackness could be seen, as if all light from the outside world feared to enter. As the screaming man came closer, it reared up above him, then striking with the speed of a viper, it swallowed him almost to his waist. The man screamed in agony, as it bit down onto him with its enormous jaws and began to drain him of his magic, just like it had done with the first man Zedd had seen die.

Soon it would be his and Cole’s turn to fuel the creature’s link to the Netherworld, so that Lord Zelroth could report his failure at securing Lamuria’s power source to their God, Aamon.

After fleeing the disastrous outcome of the battle at Lamuria, Zedd and Cole had quickly been intercepted by
Baliaeter
Chaol—the most powerful
Baliaeter
in the Thule Empire. Apparently, Lord Zelroth had commanded him to travel to Afaraon and take control of his army outside Lamuria, even before he had instructed Zedd and Cole to do the same at Coldmont.

Baliaeter
Chaol’s magical strength was very well known within the Thule Empire, and it was believed that only his battlefield prowess had prevented him from becoming one of Lord Zelroth’s Darkseed Elite. When he had discovered Zedd and Cole fleeing the battlefield, he had at first believed them deserters, and treated them accordingly. He almost executed them on the spot, but for Cole’s subtle intervention within his mind suggesting he should ask more questions first.

Upon hearing that Lord Zelroth had personally ordered that Zedd and Cole take charge of the army at Lamuria, he quickly had the two Inquisitors travelling with him verify their story. Unlike Cole, Zedd had no way to resist the mind probe of the Inquisitors, and neither did he try. Instead, he willingly revealed the full details of their meeting with Lord Zelroth at Coldmont, knowing that was his best chance of surviving the situation.

Zedd had known full well that Lord Zelroth would kill them both for their failure once they returned to the Empire—something he was very keen to avoid, by escaping during their long trip back home. He knew if he did, his family would be held responsible and made destitute within the Empire—but at least he would survive, and maybe he could rescue his family at a later date.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance.

Baliaeter
Chaol was a shrewd man, and had both Zedd and Cole dosed with large amounts of Calligray root for their whole journey back to the Empire. Calligray root only grew in the hot southern deserts of Thule, and was used to incapacitate a person from using any magic whatsoever. It was often used within the Thule Empire to control its prisoners, and prevent their escape; their food dosed with it daily. Once taken, it took several days before that person was able to perform any kind of magic again.

It had been two weeks since they had arrived back in the Thule Empire and delivered directly to Lord Zelroth, along with the news of their failure. Lord Zelroth had descended into a fit of rage, the likes of which Zedd and Cole had never seen before. Several unsuspecting servants who just happened to be in the room at the time paid with their lives, as Lord Zelroth lashed out violently at the people around him. Zedd and Cole both thought their lives would end at any moment, and in the following days, they both wished they had.

Lord Zelroth ordered Zedd and Cole to be taken by the Darkseed Elite and tortured, and the days that followed were beyond any pain imaginable. Their bodies were broken beyond recognition, only to be healed again, and then the process repeated over. No amount of screaming or pleading helped, and no respite was given. By the end of the first day, Zedd would have gladly taken his own life a dozen times over to end his own suffering. By the end of the second day, he prayed to be freely allowed to enter the gates of the seven-hells for all eternity, rather than be made to suffer more of what he had.

Often Lord Zelroth would come and watch their torture, gleefully adding his own form of mental torture to that of the physical type being ministered. He revealed his twisted plans for Zedd’s family and property, and promised him much more pain to come.

Apparently, it had all been a sick joke of Lord Zelroth’s, and he had never expected Zedd or Cole to survive challenging
Baliaeter
Varorde for control over his army at Lamuria.
Baliaeter
Chaol had already been sent to Lamuria to take command of the army, even before Lord Zelroth had met Zedd or Cole at Coldmont. He had been sent to take
Baliaeter
Varorde into custody for alleged treasonous acts committed against the Empire during a recent campaign in the southern badlands.

Lord Zelroth went to great lengths to explain how insignificant both Zedd and Cole were to him, but unfortunately, the results of their actions had not been. It wasn’t the fact they had failed to carry out his orders—or even attempt to—it was what Lord Zelroth had been forced to do since their return. The location of Coldmont was a closely guarded secret by Lord Zelroth, with only a handful of his most trusted Darkseed Elite and Inquisitors knowing of its existence. Unfortunately, neither
Baliaeter
Chaol, nor the Inquisitors travelling with him were among those trusted few, and Lord Zelroth had been forced to execute them all due to Zedd and Cole’s actions—something that Lord Zelroth had promised them excruciating pain for as recompense, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. He also promised that it would be their lives that would be used to form the link to the Netherworld, so he could inform Aamon of his failure to release him.

As the doomed man continued his helpless screaming within the
Aznavor’s
jaws, an image of Aamon suddenly flickered into existence at the centre of the shimmering silver disc. Lord Zelroth fell to the ground, prostrating himself in front of his God.

“Might I presume by my continued imprisonment within the Netherworld that you have failed me?” Aamon said in an otherworldly voice.

“Please, I beg your forgiveness, sire. Our forces were taken completely unawares by a powerful young mage who emerged from the Deceiver’s Temple. From the information I have obtained about the battle, it appears that he used a form of Guardian magic to destroy our forces, similar to what is recorded in our ancient sacred texts. Sire, if the Deceiver has once again allied herself with Driden and his dragons—”

“SILENCE!” Aamon commanded. “There is no new alliance, and there will be no resurrection of the Guardians either. Even here, in the Netherworld, I sensed the disruption in the fabric of magic caused by the emergence of this new mage. He
is
powerful—but he is
no
Guardian. Without a dragon, such a feat is impossible.

“I know my brother, and so I know that Driden will never forgive the treacherous acts of my sister. I may be trapped within the Netherworld, but the outside world is not beyond my sight. I have seen Aysha’s creations proudly mount the stolen dragon heart above her High Temple, and rest assured, so has Driden. I have felt his rage at her betrayal over the countless centuries whilst I have been imprisoned here, and now that the dragon heart at Coldmont has become visible to him, his fury has only grown stronger. He believed that she had only stolen one of his sacred creations, but now he knows the truth—or at least part of it. I am confident that once I am set free from the Netherworld, and Driden learns the full truth of our sister’s treachery that he will be more than willing to form an alliance with me against her, and her vile creations.”

“Sire, I regret to report that the dragon heart at Lamuria has already been partly regenerated, and is now protected by their powerful new mage. I know of the weakness he exploited, and the same mistakes will not be repeated—but it will take us time to wear down their defences again.”

“Fortunately for you, that will not be necessary. During our recent communications I have begun to sense the existence of another dragon heart in your world. At first, I thought it to be the one at Coldmont, but realised its location was much closer than that. As you know, any dragon that dies in your world is immediately taken back to Nerroth by its brethren. Its heart is removed there, and the knowledge within is shared amongst their kind for all time.

“The soul of a dragon lives on in its heart after death, and all of its life experiences along with it. Their final resting place is a well guarded secret, and very well protected. I know of its existence, but even I am unable to penetrate the powerful magic protecting its location, or sense the dragon hearts within. It is Driden’s equivalent to a High Temple, and as such, carries all the safeguards associated with it. So knowing all of that, I could not understand why I was able to detect a dragon heart at first—one that had not been recovered by its kind and returned to Nerroth—then I began to understand; it was because the other dragons could not see it. I believe it remains hidden somewhere in The Dark Forest of Afaraon, somewhere close enough to The Great Rift for it to be hidden from the senses of both dragons and Gods, and somewhere it has remained since the time I was first imprisoned here. You will use the power of that dragon heart to finally free me from this prison…” Aamon’s image began to shimmer and fade, as the last remnants of power was drained from the dying man by the
Aznavor
.

“Another one—quickly!” Lord Zelroth said, snapping his fingers at the Inquisitor. Zedd’s legs went weak as his bonds were suddenly released, and his mind seized by the Inquisitor. His legs began moving independently of his mind, taking him one step at a time towards the waiting
Aznavor
, and his impending doom. He tried desperately to break the Inquisitor’s control over him, but his body still suffered the effects of the Calligray root, and no matter how hard he tried, any form of magic was beyond his ability. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t plead for his life, nor would he give Lord Zelroth the satisfaction of hearing him scream, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

As Zedd came almost within range of the creature’s influence, he suddenly realised why Aamon’s words had sounded so familiar to him. During his own trek through The Dark Forest in Afaraon, he had seen a pile of ancient dragon bones through the eyes of the
Vesdari
he was controlling, and they had glowed with power to its hungry eyes.

“WAIT!” Zedd screamed. “I know where the dragon heart is.”

Lord Zelroth held up his hand to the Inquisitor only a single footstep outside the range of the shrieking
Aznavor
.

“If you are lying to me, I will have you tortured for the rest of your natural life,” Lord Zelroth said menacingly to Zedd.

“I’m not. I swear it. We discovered the dragon remains when we travelled through The Dark Forest in pursuit of the boy-mage and his paladin friend. I summoned a
Vesdari
, and it stumbled across the dragon remains whilst it hunted for them. I saw it myself, through the creature’s own eyes,” Zedd said desperately, knowing that one more step would be his last.

Lord Zelroth locked eyes with Zedd, pointed to his Inquisitor, then to the final prisoner still chained next to Cole. The man’s bonds fell away, and he began to scream in terror as the slow walk to his death began.

Zedd breathed a sigh of relief, smiling inwardly at the prospect of surviving another close encounter with death. He would try and convince Lord Zelroth of Cole’s value, but whatever the outcome, at least
he
would survive this day.

***

Thank you for reading
LUSAM—The Dragon Mage Wars—Book Three
. I hope you enjoyed reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I very much hope you will join Lusam and the others again in the next thrilling instalment.