My Royal Pain Quest (The Lakeland Knight series, #2) (8 page)

Scared, are we?
I noted.
Good. Let’s build on that.

As I flew over them, I gave each one a quick pull on the tail. They yelped and spun around, snapping their teeth, frantically searching for whatever was attacking them. Leaving them to it, I flew straight to the hut and hit the door open. Just as I expected, it was empty, except for an old cracked table and shelves filled with dusty bottles.

I checked in the corners, under the table and turned to leave. Two beasts were blocking the doorway.

Rats. Should have chopped off a head or two instead of pulling on tails.

They couldn’t see me, but they knew someone was in here, and they seemed determined to get their teeth on the invisible intruder, despite their obvious fear. I drew the sword, paused… and sheathed it. My invisibility was an unfair advantage. Using Jarvi’s sword in such circumstances could be considered questionable.

This is getting ridiculous. I’ll need to get myself another blade…

The clink of the sword gave the beasts an idea of my location; one charged, aiming pretty accurately at my throat. I dodged, grabbed a bottle off the shelf and brought it down on its head. It was quite a head, let me tell you. The bottle broke, but the creature was not even knocked out. He did fall though.

Not waiting for him to scramble back on his feet, I grabbed the beast by the back of his neck and by the tail, lifted and hurled him at the other one still in the doorway. Having thus cleared my way, I pushed myself off the floor and flew out of the hut.

I ate another flying berry as I rushed after Cassandra, probably a little early but I didn’t want to take any chances. I ate another invisibility berry as well, so that I could see Cassandra’s shadowy silhouette.

“Hut empty,” I reported, catching up with her.

“Yes. It’s them over there, and they’ve got Reggie, just like you said,” she replied. “I managed to get closer and take a good look. But they are hard to keep up with.”

I looked ahead, but I could only make out the same three hopping shapes I saw before.

“How are they moving so fast?”

“They are riding the beasts.”

“Ah. Makes sense.”

“I thought broomsticks were their traditional means of transportation,” Cassandra noted.

“
Too
traditional. That’s what everyone expects from a witch. One of the Villains League latest bulletins banned them and advised the use of innovations.”

She glanced at me in surprise. “Really? My, you guys are organized. I thought you were just joking about the Villains League before.”

I did not remember ever mentioning it to her, but if I did, and she took it so lightly, this was as good time as any to set her straight. The league did not think itself in any way amusing.

“This is no joking matter, trust me. You wouldn’t want to displease the league in any way, or even catch its attention.” I focused on the witches again. They were still no more than distant silhouettes. “All right, let’s fly as fast as we can and get this over with.”

Flying faster required more effort—strangely so, since we did not have to move our arms or legs. Yet it somehow consumed physical strength, turning out to be as draining as running.

We were gaining on the witches though. I picked out the one clutching Reggie under her arm and prepared for the final dash at her.

“What are they doing?” Cassandra asked.

The witches were quickly approaching a solitary mountain. It was not large, so I fully expected them to ride around it—but they didn’t. Their unconventional mounts seemed to carry them straight at the steep rocky mountain side.

Just when I thought they’d smash into it, the leading witch flung her arm up and shrieked something. Part of the rock moved, opening like a door; they rushed inside, one after another, and the door closed.

We landed at the foot of the mountain in less than a minute.

“I wondered where they were heading,” I muttered, barely able to hide my frustration. We almost had them!

“Some sort of an emergency shelter?”

“Looks like it. I suppose it’s flattering that we proved to be enough of emergency for them to use it, but it’s not enough to delude me into feeling any better about it.”

I examined the rocky wall before me. There was no sign of a door. Solid rock, granite or basalt.

“May their broomsticks come alive and think they are toothbrushes.”

Cassandra snorted. “Didn’t you say broomsticks were banned?”

“Temporarily. And only as transportation, not for general use.”

I checked the wall again, touching the cold rough surface.

“I bet they’ve got plenty of supplies in there to wait it out.” I didn’t need to repeat that we had no time.

“Maybe we’ll find a way to open it,” Cassandra said. There was no certainly in her voice, and I didn’t blame her.

“I doubt it. Unless you have any ideas.”

She shook her head.

I had none either. We did not know the password or incantation the witch had used, and it was unlikely that the hidden door would respond to anything else. Although…

“Wait a minute.”

I pulled out the sword. The moment I raised it, facing the rocky wall, I felt something. Some energy pushing my arm back, as if resisting.

“What is it?” Cassandra asked. She must have noticed a change in my expression.

“For the lack of a better explanation, I’d say the mountain does not like this sword,” I replied. “And the sword is not fond of the mountain, either,” I added after I tried stepping closer. “They’re like the opposite poles of a magnet.”

“I think the opposite ones actually attract.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Yes, yes. I wonder why this is happening.”

“Beats me. But for some reason I think it’s a good sign.”

I took another step, struggling against the growing resistance. I knew what I wanted to do next would probably require all my strength, so I gathered it as best as I could, swung the sword and slashed at the invisible door.

The impact was alike to a miniature earthquake, if there is such a thing. It sent me reeling back as the mountain shook, sending waves of tremor through the ground. Then something cracked.

“You did it!” Cassandra cried out, clapping her hands. “You opened it!”

Indeed, the doorway was open. We could not see anything as we peered inside, it was pitch black. It was suspiciously quiet, too.

“All right you three, come out now,” I said. “Don’t make me level the place.”

There came no response.

Did I kill them all?...

“I’m going in.”

Cassandra drew her blade. “Do you want me to go with you or stay back?”

I knew why she asked. Not because she was scared, because of the possible Second Deed. If it wasn’t for that, there probably wouldn’t be any way to stop her. I wanted her to know that I saw it, too.

“Stay here. We don’t want to ruin the deed,
if
this turns out to be it.”

I headed to the opening—only to discover that the “magnets” still worked. The mountain was still pushing away the sword. The sword, too, refused to be brought into the doorway, so much so that I ended up standing at the entrance with my arm stretched far back.

“It won’t go in there,” Cassandra commented, watching in wide-eyed amazement.

I stepped back, sheathed the sword, and tried again. Now I couldn’t even approach the entrance, one invisible force pushing, another pulling me away.

“Nope. It won’t.”

“Perhaps it’s a warning. Perhaps you shouldn’t enter.”

“I can’t let you do it.”

“There is no other option.”

I thought long and hard before I answered. “There is. We can switch blades. I bet the mountain won’t object to me entering with yours.”

“But you said Jarvi’s sword shouldn’t change hands. That’s how Kellemar spoiled it.”

“Kellemar had used it for evil, he’d hit Prince Philip with it. If you don’t do anything wrong, if you just stand here and hold the sword while I’m inside, the mere act of changing hands shouldn’t do any harm.”

She looked me in the eye. Our invisibility was gone, so I saw her face clearly.

“Are you saying you’d trust me with that?”

I did not know. I wanted to. Would I be a fool if I did?

“I haven’t trusted anyone for a long time. It’s my friend we’re talking about here, not just me. The only friend I have in the world… Well, besides Prince Philip.”

“You have more friends than you think.” Cassandra paused, giving me a moment to grasp what she meant, then added, her voice barely above a whisper, “I’ll die defending this sword if I have to.”

I found no words to reply, so I just handed her Jarvi’s sword. She accepted it with both hands, carefully, like a great treasure.

“You shouldn’t need to defend it,” I said, taking Cassandra’s curved blade from her. “I won’t be long.”

If I only knew how wrong I was.

***

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“Take this, too. Just in case.”

Cassandra handed me the bottle with fake Triar’s potion.

I stepped through the opening in the mountain. As soon as I was inside, the stone door behind me moved and closed with a dull thud. I spun around, reminding myself even as I did that Cassandra could open the door again. Probably. If she’d have enough physical strength.

I didn’t get to reflect on it very long. The blackness around me faded, reduced by pale blue glow; I felt a gust of wind sweep over my head.

Wind?...

I turned and found myself facing a corridor, far longer than the size of the mountain would have allowed. Its walls were illuminated by the strange bluish glow that seemed to move in waves. I could not see the other end.

Great. It’s not a shelter, it’s a passage, leading who knows where.

I had taken another pink berry before coming in, so I wouldn’t be harmed by whatever magic was at work here. Holding the blade ready, I started walking along the corridor. Something changed again. The waves of light were moving faster, the wind blew stronger into my face. The floor seemed to shift under my feet, again and again.

Then a patch of daylight appeared before me.
Already?
The passage wasn’t that long, after all.

I was greeted by startled screams as I stepped out onto the soft white sand. Screams and furious growling. Something lashed at me; dazzled by the bright sunlight, I saw what it was only after I swung the sword: one of the ugly beasts dropped dead at my feet, nearly slashed in two. Cassandra’s blade was sharp.

The other two wasted no time to attack. They aimed for my throat, it clearly seemed to be their preferred method of bringing down enemies. Well, it may be a fine method, but not when two massive bulks are flying at the same target at once. I simply stepped aside and let them collide. Which they did marvelously.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a witch raising her staff and shouting an incantation. I left her to it, focusing on another one who was wielding an old rusty blade. The blade must have been enchanted, and she relied on that rather than on swordsmanship or physical strength. The magic of course didn’t work. Disarming her took one well-placed hit.

All right, where’s the third one?

I found out soon enough. The concussion-resistant beasts were back on their feet. Having obviously learned their lesson, they changed their tactics, one facing me, the other circling to my left. As they pounced on me, Rosmarina attacked from behind. A hard blow on the back of my head made me stagger. I still managed to hit one of the beasts and splash the other with the potion, turning him into a statue of ice. Regaining my balance, I swirled around. Rosmarina was swinging her staff again, aiming to smash me in the face.

I was in no mood for civilities. She paid with her head for it—literally.

The two remaining witches froze, staring in horror at the icy wolf glistening in the sun and at the severed head.

I took a step closer, searing them with a look.

“All right ladies. In case it’s not clear enough, you’ve made me mad now. For the last time, where is the Swirg?”

“I’m here, Mr. Arkus!” came a thin-voiced response from somewhere on my right.

I turned and saw Reggie peeking from under a large leaf in the thicket of southern looking plants that grew there. He must have used the commotion to escape and hide. Smart boy.

Although revealing his location now probably wasn’t too smart. Instantly, one of the witches dashed for him. Reggie ducked back into the leaves, but she was very close to him. Too close.

I hurled the sword after her.
Thwack!
The hag collapsed with the blade sticking out of her back.

The third witch looked very displeased with my actions. She had retrieved her rusty weapon and obviously made the mistake of thinking she now caught me unarmed and defenseless. She ran at me with a shriek, sword raised.

She forgot about the potion though. A moment later, another ice sculpture of questionable artistic value decorated the beach.

“Mr. Arkus!” Reggie ran out of his hiding place.

Before I could blink, he climbed up my leg, arm, over the shoulder and hung around my neck.

I told him I wasn’t the hugging type but he didn’t care.

“I knew you would come to help me.”

“You couldn’t possibly know that. Would you let go of me?”

He wouldn’t.

“I’m so sorry.”

“What about?”

“That witch hit you in the head!”

“Well. I think I hit her harder.”

Reggie snickered, releasing me at last. “You showed them. Where is your friend? And what’s her name?”

“Cassandra. She is waiting on the other side.”

I turned to the passage… and saw nothing but rocks. The door was gone.

“Uh-oh.” Reggie slid down to the sand, looking in the same direction. “How are we going to return? Do you know the password?”

“You did it this time, Arkus, didn’t you?” a familiar voice said.

Ragnar was leaning casually against the ice wolf, pleased to no end. Reggie gasped at the sight of him and dashed for the cover of leaves.

“And, believe it or not, I had no hand in it,” the gormack continued. “It’s all your own brilliant fault.”

I glowered at him. “Get out, Ragnar. I’ve got no time for you.”

His grin grew wider.

“On the contrary, you have plenty of time. Let me fill you in on the situation. You’re on an island in the middle of the Scorpian sea, hundreds of miles away from where you had entered the passage. You’ve killed the witches, you don’t know the password. You can’t open the door. You’re stuck here.” He paused, giving me time to absorb it. “You could sail back, I suppose, but it doesn’t look like you have a boat. You have acquired the curious ability to fly, so you might be thinking about getting out that way. I’m afraid I have to disappoint you: unless you can fly for days on end, that wouldn’t be possible either. There’s no place to land and rest between this island and the shores of Ulkaria.”

That did not sound good at all. Unless he was lying. I hoped he was.

“I only need to wait until she thaws,” I said, nodding at the ice witch. “Then I think I will find a way to persuade her to open the door for me.”

Ragnar laughed. “She will not thaw, my friend, she will
melt
. This is what happens when you use someone else’s potions you know nothing about. What? You don’t believe me? The beast is melting already, come take a look.”

I stepped closer. He was right. There was no beast encased in the ice, it was one solid block. It contradicted what I had heard the fake Triar say to the thugs, his instructions sounded like the potion was a temporary immobilizer, not a deadly weapon. But I saw what I saw. The whole statue was melting.

“You’re stuck here,” the gormack repeated.

“Shut up.”

“I can certainly understand the frustration. It’s got to be hard to admit I have won without even trying.”

“You have
not
won. It’s not over yet.”

He shrugged. “You have no options, as far as I see.”

“Can
you
open the passage?”

Ragnar looked at me, intrigued. “That’s an interesting turn your thoughts are taking. Suppose I can. How do you picture talking me into doing it?”

“Well, let’s see here. How about you open the door and I give a written statement that it was Ellar, not me, who knocked you down with that boot?”

His glow darkened.

“It’s a bit too late for
that
,” he snapped, all his humor instantly gone. “No statement will undo what you did, and you will pay for it.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize it was that bad. Are you officially titled Ragnar the Bootwhacked or something like that?”

He took a step to me, seething. “Watch your mouth, human! You have no idea what you are messing with.”

“But I do. One ticked off gormack who can do nothing about it.”

“Temporarily. Don’t you forget that. And there is someone else, someone for whom you appear to care, who is
not
under any protection.”

I clenched my fists.
Cassandra.

“Don’t you dare come near her.”

Ragnar’s grin returned. “Yes, you do care. That’s good to know. I can hit you where it hurts now. I was going just to pay her a visit and take the sword; now I’ll kill her.”

I went for his throat. He was visible, but not fully materialized; my fingers closed on thin air.

“You missed,” he taunted.

“Touch her and I’ll rip you to shreds. I don’t care that you’re a spirit, I’ll find a way.”

“Wow. You’ve grown that attached? Honestly, I’d never expect this of you.”

Neither would I. Which was none of his business.

As I stood glaring at him in helpless fury, a thought crossed my mind. Was he bluffing? If he could get Jarvi’s sword, he would have already done it.

“She
is
under protection,” I said. “She is with me on this quest. You can’t touch her. If you could, you’d be standing here now with Jarvi’s sword in your hand.”

Irritation flashed in his eyes. At least I thought so. I hoped I didn’t imagine it.

The gormack gave a controlled smile. “You cling to that pathetic false hope while I go take care of her. I simply decided to talk to you first. I’ll be back shortly. With the sword.”

He disappeared.

I sank on the sand, suddenly exhausted. I did not see Reggie approach; the next thing I knew the little Swirg was standing in front of me, eyes big.

“That was… an evil spirit, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. A gormack.”

“I’ve never seen one before.”

“Good for you.”

“He is so scary.” Reggie sat down next to me. “I heard what he said. Is it true?”

“Who knows. Most of it probably is.” I looked at him. “Don’t you remember the password? You must have heard it clearly when the witch had used it.”

He shook his head. “No. I mean, I heard it, but I can’t repeat it. It was a long phrase in some strange language.”

Minutes passed; Ragnar had not returned. Did that mean I was right?

I wished I could summon Ellar, ask him to defend Cassandra, maybe even to open the door. He had a sword like Jarvi’s, so he probably could. Alas, Ellar only came when he was sent or allowed to appear by the king of spirits. And there was no telling what the latter had in mind. He’d proven to be rather unpredictable.

“It’s all because of me,” Reggie said.

“Nonsense. You didn’t ask the witches to kidnap you and didn’t ask me to come after you through the passage.”

He brightened up. “So you’re not mad at me?”

“You silly, of course not. I’m mad at Ragnar and worried about Cassandra.”

“If she is as brave as you are, and I think she is, she’s gonna show him.”

That brought a half-smile out of me, easing the tension a little.

“She is brave, you’re certainly right about that.” I wished he was right about the rest, too, but bravery wasn’t enough to stand against a gormack. I had no idea what it would take to fight one off. Or whether it was even possible.

“All right then.” Reggie stood up. “I’m hungry. You think about what to do, and I’ll go find us something to eat.”

He scampered away, leaving me shaking my head. ‘You think what to do,’ sure thing. Why did I always get the hardest part?

I waited some more. No Ragnar.

That shows he had lied. He can’t harm Cassandra, can’t get his hands on the sword.

Resolving to believe it until I’d be proven wrong, I rose. Reggie was right, something
had
to be done. At least about dead witches and beasts if we didn’t want the stench to rise.

I retrieved Cassandra’s blade, cleaned it, and used up the rest of the potion, pouring it on the bodies, turning them into ice. Much easier than digging graves, thank you very much.

I explored the surroundings next. The line of sand was not very wide, the sea behind it perfectly still, no waves. Some rocks, plenty of leafy plants. None of the plants looked large enough to use for building a boat, even if I had tools—or the slightest idea of how it’s done.

It was indeed an island, and a small one. I used a flying berry to soar up and survey the teardrop-shaped bit of land in the midst of the immense expanse of the azure sea. As far as the eye could see, there were no other islands, just water.

I went back down and found a shaded spot under a rocky ledge. My head throbbed, I needed to get out of the sun.

Some time later I saw a huge cluster of grapes walk toward me on thin little legs.

“I’ve found these berries,” said Reggie’s voice. “Don’t know what they are, we don’t have them in our forest. But I’ve tried them, and they’re yummy. Do you think they are good for humans?”