Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (45 page)

  By Pada’s
command, the men continued on towards the black tornado and in defiance of
Jace’s warning. Kilen slowed his pace, trying not to get to close. He knew Jace
was trying to tell him that if he approached, he would take on the spirits of
those dying in the battle. Kilen was at a loss; he wanted to help stop the
killing, but could not join the battle to do so.

  He was happy
that the tornado did not last long before the smoke continued a more normal
path climbing into the sky. He remained quiet, trying to think of how to fix
the problems that Atmos caused. It was his job to see that justice was served
and now he had who knows how many dead soldiers to get justice for, besides the
people of the Earth Realm.

  He knew
someday he would serve justice to King Atmos. Until then, he would follow Pada
back to the rest of their army.

  It was mid
afternoon by the time they arrived to meet the survivors of the attack. The
defenses were broken and their camp had been flattened by the tornado of smoke.
Bodies, weapons, and provisions littered the ground that Pada lead his men
over. They stopped only to offer a small prayer and close the eyes of the
fallen. The rest of the army had gathered at the farthest wall from where the
attack had come.

  Kilen stopped
to look at a section of the panels that were broken and burnt. A larger number
of bodies told the story. Arrows jutted out of the ground and the men laid on
the ground as if they were still trying to pull the instruments of their death
from their bodies. Kilen thought he would be sick, and truly from the sight of
the dead men this time. He turned away and saw what was left of the twisted
bodies the tornado had thrown around. They lay broken, mangled, and split upon
the ground.

  Kilen closed
his eyes as best he could and tried to think of something that made him happy.
Kilen felt the contents of his stomach settle back down as he remembered Twilix
explaining what good magic could do. The moment he met the tiny wizard had
changed his life. He started an adventure full of beautiful experiences and
sights that few would ever see.

Someone cleared
their throat and he opened his eyes and saw Mary standing before him. “They’re
waiting for you, Weapon Bearer.” She said the words with as much distaste as
Pada used to spit at his feet.

  Kilen came to
the small circle of Fire Realm men and tried to imitate their squatted
position. The heavy armor he wore made it hard to stay balanced, but he did the
best he could.

Pada waited for
Kilen to arrange himself, “Atmos has captured Rekkan by deception. We lost
Tokeye in our attempt to get him back, but Atmos held him in his grasp like a
prize. What has happened
here
?”

  A dark man
with a braided beard answered while sharpening his axe, “We were attacked from
the side during these so-called peace talks.” His gaze was set upon Kilen.
“They did not engage us directly. They gave us waves of arrows over the wall
and used wielders to keep our men at bay so we could not get close enough to
use our spears. They used our defenses against us until we had to fall back.
Then the wind came out of the sky and ripped our fleeing men apart. Some of our
wielders sacrificed themselves to distract the attackers long enough for us to
reform our lines.”

  “How many did
we lose?” Pada asked.

  “We have
incomplete numbers, but I would venture to guess seven thousand men,” One of
the warriors spoke while checking the number of his daggers.

  Pada growled
and spat at the answer, “Elric was too quick to trust them. We should have
crushed them while we had the chance. This is no way to fight an honorable
war.”

  The man with
the braided beard pointed his axe at Kilen, “This is his doing, Pada. Let us
have justice out on him.”

  From behind
the circle Mary chimed in, “I was there with the rest of the Earth Realm
Council. The king said that this meeting was to be for peace. Kilen did
everything he said he was going to do.”

  “He lost us
this war. He is a traitorous man!” The bearded man yelled as he stood,
tightening his grip on his axe.

  Pada and Kilen
both stood. Pada put one hand on Kilen’s chest and the other he held out to
stop the bearded man, “A woman speaks and you interrupt her? This woman wielded
fire at her own king trying to save yours.” He held his hand out to Kilen, “The
Weapon Bearer held the elements so we were not crushed without Elric to protect
us. You were not there and cannot judge this man, Sali. Sit, or I will have
your axe.”

  Reluctantly,
the man sat back down.

Pada nodded to
Kilen to take back his position and Mary continued, “We tried to get Elric, but
I saw Kilen fall. He was having trouble keeping the elements under his control.
I will testify this to your queen.”

The men nodded
and Mary backed away from the circle.

  Pada turned to
Kilen, “What will you do, Weapon Bearer?”

  Kilen cleared
his throat to gain a bit of time to think, “I will return to the Elders and
find a way to get justice. What of the Fire Realm? You don’t have enough men to
fight this war. King Atmos will continue to fight you using these tactics until
the rest of his army arrives.”

  Pada looked
around the circle before answering, “We will send some of our men home with the
councilwoman. The rest of our plan is for us to know. King Atmos wanted a war
of deception and we are going to give it to him. Weapon Bearer, will you stop
us from getting our justice?”

Kilen shook his
head, “Not as long as you get it before I do.”

Pada held out
his hand to shake Kilen’s, just as Atmos had done to Rekkan. Kilen looked at
his open hand and watched as the rest of the circle stood.

It took only a
moment, but Kilen smiled and gripped his hand tightly. “I wish you all a safe
journey. Please take care of Mary, I will want to see her again.”

They both nodded
and Pada gave a quick squeeze to his hand.

Kilen started to
back away from the group as they watched him go. No one said a word or moved,
so he gave a quick wave and trotted away in his noisy armor. Mary followed and
the only reason he knew was because of the sparks that popped off of her
shoulders. He slowed and turned to face her. “I wanted this to go a different
way,” He said apologetically.

She smiled, “I
know you did.” She stood looking at Kilen saying nothing for a moment and
started to turn back towards the circle of mean, “I have always wanted to go to
the Fire Realm. I’ve never been able to control my magic long enough to leave
the castle. Atmos would not let me go until I could control it. Since I found
out I was a fire wizard, I wanted to go and learn in the land of my element.
Yet I wanted to stay and save those in the dungeon.

She cleared her
throat and continued on, “King Atmos would never let me out of his sight. I
told Kara how to control her magic, but I am not sure I said it right. I had
trouble achieving control myself, until just now.”

Kilen noticed
that her shoulders were no longer popping. Her face was that of joy, and a look
Kilen had never seen on her.

“I understand
now why I was unable to teach her. You need to make sure she wants something
bad enough that she will do anything to get it. When she knows what she wants,
tell her to focus on that
one
thing and never let it go. Remember that,
okay?”

Kilen lowered
his head, “I doubt I will ever be close enough to explain these things to her.
Especially after today’s events.”

“Well, I hope
that you do some day. Perhaps after Pada and the Crimson free Rekkan.”

She turned to
walk away but Kilen caught her arm.

“Are they
planning to free their king?”

“I don’t see why
they wouldn’t. It is better they do it now than when Atmos is safely inside his
castle fortifications.”

“Mary, if you
are finally getting your chance to go to the Fire Realm, why are you still
sparking? Shouldn’t you be in control?”

“Killing King
Atmos has become a new passion of mine,” a mischievous smile spread across her
face just before she turned to rejoin the ring of Crimson.

Kilen took one
last look at the men in the circle and heard a voice inside, “
Farwell, Pada.
I am sorry I failed you.”

Kilen whispered
quietly to himself, “You haven’t failed him yet, Tokeye.”

The stone-like
emotion twinged with pride and confusion when Kilen mentioned his name. He did
his best not to smile at the man’s emotional knot inside his head. A horse
formed beside him out of the stone earth. “Let’s ride, Max.” He pulled himself
onto Max’s back and they rode through the heart of the battlefield back into
the mountains where they had come from.

Max rode
directly to the small copse of trees they stopped at before meeting Rekkan. The
remnants of his fire still lingered and he quickly started the fire back up. He
heated up some salted meat that was put with his things when the Fire Realm’s
men packed his belongings. The taste was undesirable, but he knew he would have
to live off of it until he found the Elders again.

Joahna, in the
form of a tiny bird, landed on the ground and grew to his winged man form.
Kilen was sure that Joahna perfered the form more than the others he had taken.
“Kilen, do you have Tokeye?”

“He’s here,
along with that Earth Realm man.”

“
Where is
‘here?”
The stone-like knot said in his head.

“You are inside
my head, Tokeye. I will let the others explain in a moment, please be patient.”

Jace captured
the smoke and formed a body, “We will need to move as soon as you are able. If
the king decides to come after you, we won’t stand a chance without controlling
the elements.”

The mention of
Atmos’ name sent the spirit of Earth Realm man screaming again inside his head.
He had almost forgotten about the man, but the man would not forget Atmos.
Kilen put the palm of his hand to his temple, as if it would stop the pain the
man was causing.

“First, we need
to explain to the others,”Kilen said holding his temples.

Joahan stepped
forward, “He’s right, Jace. They’ll drive Kilen mad if we don’t teach them to
control themselves in his head.” He turned to Kilen, “I will return inside you
to help while we travel. If anything, I can teach them to block their emotions
and speech from your mind.”

“Yes, keeping
their emotions in check will help me greatly. I definitely need to help the
Earth Realm man. I don’t even know his name,” Kilen said, frustrated.

Joahna stepped
in front of Kilen, Max came to stand beside him. “Ready yourself, Kilen.”

He closed his
eyes and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the impact upon his
consciousness. When he opened his eyes he nodded his head and the icy man
became a statue. The concussion caused him to wobble, but he was able to
maintain his footing.

Joahna began
bearing the truth just as he had done to Jace,
Tokeye. You are dead. “Your
spirit remains alive inside of the True Weapon Bearer, Kilen. You will remember
me, my name is Joahna, the king’s older brother. The earth elemental is your
friend and fellow member of the Crimson and Elric’s other brother, Max.”

Kilen stood in
front of Max, “Show him who you are, Max.”

The stack of
rocks with arms and legs took on his most detailed form; the same form Max had
been practicing every time he chose one. The eerie looking eyes moved in rock
sockets, staring back at Kilen.

“
I know him
and you, Joahna. How is this possible? I gave my life for Elric,” Tokeye said.

Joahna gave a
sigh of relief and his nervous emotions loosened, “
The True Weapon Bearer is
a special kind of wizard, known as a spirit wizard. Somehow, he is able to
capture the spirits of those around him. He can hear you speaking and feel what
you feel. He can even transfer your spirit into an elemental form. We are able
to continue our purpose through him. Max and I have agreed to help him bring
justice to this land and ours, in exchange for a chance at a new body.”

It took a moment
for Tokeye to mull over the information he had been given, “
Can we receive a
new body?”

Kilen answered,
“For the time being, we do not know if you can. They have both been able to
take turns controlling an elemental to be free of my mind. I promise Tokeye, I
did not know what Atmos was going to do.”

The other man
wailed and shot pain into Kilen’s head. Joahna must have done something because
the pain subsided and the man’s voice quieted almost instantly.

Kilen let out a
sound of relief before continuing, “I will do all I can to get justice for you.
Atmos holds my sister prisoner. She is a fire wizard as well.”

Tokeye did not
have to think long before answering, “
I will join your cause. I will stand
beside my dead brothers.”

Kilen smiled,
“Max, he has agreed to join us. Joahna, can you teach while we ride?”

Of course
,
he replied. “
I will try and do something with this other lump as well. Where
shall we go?”

Kilen didn’t
reply, but instead grabbed his bags of supplies, “Max, get us to the Elders. I
need to know more before we can find judgement.”

Kilen stopped at
his own word. Only a couple months ago Atmos was sitting on his throne about to
judge Kilen for Jace’s murder. Now Kilen would put Atmos on the stand.

Ria sat with
some of the fletchers that were too old to keep up with Lieutenant Borgan and
the archers. She had a pleasant enough conversation even though she really
didn’t like spending time with regular humans. Their lives were filled with
strife and they were always in a rush from one thing to another. She wished she
could turn back time and change how she had spent the beginning years of her
life.

She was married
to a human and watched him work his life away to make her happy. His life was
much shorter than hers, and even shorter than other humans. Before they had a
chance at children, he suffered a problem with his heart and died while
fetching water so she could grow her flowers. She wished she had spent more
time enjoying the flowers with him.

People now days
worked for the future of their families and don’t seem to notice the moments
that matter most. She had done her best to tell people how to live for no
regrets, but was shunned for her advice. They would rather drink and dance
until they couldn’t remember their name than hold each other close at night,
talking until the sun rose.

She missed her
husband and being with humans reminded her of how she squandered the moments
she had. Ria rose from the fire surrounded by the aged men and slipped away
without them seeming to take notice or concern. She reached for the handle on
her wagon and heard the pounding of hooves on the ground. She backed down from
the handle and pulled her shawl over her shoulders. Being in the valley, the
temperatures would drop at night and swelter during the day; she knew it
wouldn’t be long before the temperature plummeted.

King Atmos lead
the rumble of horses, followed by the captain who had a bloodied person draped
over his horse’s saddle. The councilors were next with the rest of the wielders
in tow. The king pulled his horse to a halt and handed the reins to one of his
knights before heading in the tent. Ria walked over to the bloodied person and
realized it was someone from the Fire Realm. She was happy no one was hurt from
the Earth Realm. Still looking around the camp she did not see Bowie, Auburn,
or John.

Brent stepped up
to the man draped over the saddle and healed him. The man gasped and flexed his
body before sliding off the horse. Lorusk grabbed the man and shuffled him off
to one of the tents. Brent then gave Ria a look before passing her. She turned
to look at him but he was already waiting beside Ria’s wagon door.

She smiled and
opened the door, showing him inside.

Before she could
sit down he blurted out, “It was a lie. All of it; a lie to get us to remain
silent while he destroyed any chance we had at peace.”

“What happened?”
She said coolly, trying to calm him.

Brent paced as
much as he could in the tiny wagon and rubbed his forehead, “He talked with
Rekkan for only a moment. He insulted him and then offered him a handshake.
Rekkan, being a man of honor, took the hand shake as a pre-battle civility.
Atmos pulled with his magic strength and knocked Rekkan out on his armor. The
rest of the men there didn’t stand a chance. It’s a wonder we only found one
body, Kilen must have been acting as a mediator.”

“You have taught
the boy well. He will make a great weapon bearer if he can survive this. Where
is the weapon bearer?”

“Kilen did his
best to protect the Fire Realm’s men. He was able to hold three elements at
once for as far as anyone of us could reach. Mary, on the other hand, had free
reign over the fire she used to attack Atmos.”
            “Mary, is she ok?” Ria had started pouring a cup of tea to calm
Brent.

“As far as I
know. We searched for a little while but the men seemed more interested in
finding the imbued weapons left behind by the Fire Realm. She fled with Kilen
towards the Fire Realm’s defenses.”

She took a sip
of tea and said nothing. Brent finally took the hint and took a sip of tea. It
was chamomile; meant to calm the nerves. It was one of her personal favorites
when dealing with overly stressed men.

“Well, we will
just have to hope that they are well. As for what we are doing here, what is
your plan?” Ria asked.

“Plan? I have no
plan. The king lied to all of us and captured the Fire Realm’s king. This
meeting was supposed end in peace. Now we have to face a soul wizard with only
one realm that has a king on the throne,” Brent said as he stared into his tea
as if he might find the answers inside.
            “No, we do it without a king.” She said it so matter-of-fact that
it shocked Brent. Ria hoped it could really be that simple.

“Say that
again?” Brent had a confused look on his face as he hovered over the table on
balled fists.

Ria smiled,
“There are many paths we could take; we could approach the Elders and give them
our assistance; we could travel to the Water and Wind Realm and rally for new
kings to be raised; we could even go and aid the Fire Realm in taking down King
Atmos and raising a proper king.”

“It’ll take too
long,” He said as he started to pace again in the small wooden wagon.

She took his arm
and gently pulled him to the seat. Ria pushed his tea cup closer so he would
take a drink. “Think, Master Parker, we have only begun to hear the rumors of
the undead. We had a couple centuries when the soul wizards were gaining
strength before we finally understood how to beat them. We have since gained
and kept that knowledge. We know how to fight them
this
time.”

He took a sip of
tea, “I think that maybe we should seek out the Elders. They would know where
to start. They may already be laying plans to defeat the soul wizard.”

She nodded,
“Very well. Will you be turning in your resignation tonight or tomorrow?”

He looked up
from his tea cup, “With his treachery, I do not think he expects me to stay and
give him council. I see no need for a resignation.”

“Good, we will
be off at first light.”She caught his arm as he started to stand, “What of the
others?”

“The others?” He
scratched his head, clearly confused.

“There are
others that surely want to know you are leaving. The other wizards; perhaps
Bowie, or Auburn. They said they were only part of this war by volunteering.
The war is over and so should be their service. If we are to take on a soul
wizard, we will need strong wielders at our side.”

He sat back
down, “Yes, you’re right. Perhaps we should stay with the group a little
longer. I will see if we can rid the king of at least those two archers. I
cannot speak for the wizards, they seem to think Atmos’ actions are justified.”

She smiled,
“Good. Go and speak with them now. Let them come to me if they have questions
concerning wizard or wielder’s law. I will wait here and get some more tea
heated up. It may be a long night.”

**********

Brent ducked out
of the small wagon and closed the door behind him stepping back into the sea of
tents. Ria confounded Brent. He had heard stories of her and her talent from
his father and he was only starting to get a glimpse of her strength. She was a
dangerous woman, and not because of power with magic but of her mind.

The camp was
empty except the fletchers still chatting around the fire and a few wielders
brushing horses. Brent saw Captain Lorusk duck into a tent with a large hammer.
If anyone knew where Bowie was, it would be him.

Two of the
wielders stood outside each corner of the tent not looking out but looking in,
as if the person inside was more dangerous.

Brent looked at
the guards, “May I enter?”

The captain's
voice replied from inside, “Come in, Councilmen.”

A loud bang resounded
from inside the large tent. Brent opened the tent flap and saw a large wielder
move out of his way. When he stepped aside, he saw Lorusk looking over the
fallen Fire Realm king being chained to the ground. The sound he had heard was
a metal spike being hammered deep into the dirt. The spike came to Brent’s
chest and Lorusk watched as the wielder hammered away.

Rekkan sat
kneeling on the ground and finally Brent got a good look at his injuries. One
of his shoulders had been dislocated, probably from the force at which Atmos
had yanked him into his chest. There were multiple wounds upon his body from
the imbuement piercings being ripped from the skin. The ear that Brent could
see looked like it had been chewed on by an animal.

His face was
swollen from whatever beating he received in transport or while awaiting the
spike to arrive. Brent looked down and saw blood dripping off of the gauntlet
of the wielder on the far side of the tent.

Lorusk did not
turn away from watching the spike being driven into the ground, “What is it you
need, Councilmen?”

“I wanted to
speak to Master Crescent and that woman that follows him,” He said as he leaned
down to heal Rekkan.

“If you heal
him, it will only speed up his next beating. Our king requested he look like
this until we reach Deuterium.” Lorusk only gave a glance at Brent between
clangs of the hammer on steel spike. “The archers and other wielders were given
a mission to carry out. If they return, it should be soon.”

“
If
they
return?” Brent said backing away from Rekkan.

“They were given
an order to attack the Fire Realm’s main force from the flank. Lieutenant
Borgan would have pushed hard to bring back a report of high killing numbers.”
            “Lieutenant Borgen was in charge?” Brent asked.

Lorusk nodded
his response.

Brent knew that
Borgen was one of the most merciless superiors that Atmos had at his command.
He would stop at nothing to see the worst done on many of his missions. “Do you
know where the rest of the council is?”

“I do believe
that they went directly to the king’s tent.”

Brent knew that
he would get little information from the captain so he backed out of the tent,
reluctantly leaving the broken king behind.

Atmos searched
the loot to collect his bounty. The wielders were laying the weapons and armor
they found left behind by the Fire Realm’s men at his feet. Most of it had been
worn by Rekkan himself, but there were a few extra weapons in the stack from
the Crimson. The wielders quickly separated them into four different stacks by
element. Two swords in the middle, formerly belonging to King Rekkan, had an
equal distribution of the four elements; two on each blade. Rekkan’s wife held
the weapon that allowed her to be crowned queen; bearing a mark from three
realms.

Atmos
immediately picked up a few pieces and put them in his pocket. Most of the
imbuements being water and earth. Two of them was also the fire and wind. He
picked up the swords and turned them over in his hands.

“Get Captain
Lorusk,” Atmos said to no one in particular.

A man near the
back sped off to do his bidding.

He looked around
at the remaining wielders, “Each of you choose one that bears an element you do
not have and keep it. I will expect each of you to seek out a wizard for
training when we return. If you cannot handle the magic, put it away until you
can get your training. If you cannot control yourself with it, I will take it
and your other imbuements to share with the others here.”

The higher
ranking men stepped forward and each picked out a piece. Some of the men put
the imbuements on, but most put it into a pouch with their coins. The others
followed in rank of seniority until only a small pile remained. The remaining
men picked up pieces calling out each piece they took and the and the name of
the guards that were not present still watching the captured king. The small
pile left on the ground was put into a cloth by Atmos who tucked into his own
belt.

Lorusk walked up
and clasped his fist to his chest, “Reporting as ordered, my King.”

Atmos took one
of Rekkan’s short swords in his hand by the its tip and held it up. “A few
months ago I promised you a blade with an elemental mark. You have served me
well and because I was unable to provide you with one at the time, here is one
with two elements. One of wind and one of earth.”

Lorusk was caught
off guard and cleared his throat. By receiving a blade with two marks, he would
be given lands as a noble and be a part of a higher class in the Earth Realm.
He would often be called upon for affairs of the realm and be admitted to eat
at the king’s table during celebrations. Lorusk finally removed the fist from
his chest and held it out before him.

Atmos placed the
hilt in his palm, “Congratulations Noblemen Lorusk, Captain to the Earth
Realm’s forces.”

The rest of the
wielders all pounded their fists against their chest with some cheering. Brent
clapped his hands as he watched the wielders being rewarded for not turning
against the king.

“Captain, alert
me when the others arrive.” Lorusk bowed his head and tried to find a place
amongst his armor for the sword.

Brent bent over
to get into the king’s tent flap without getting his head caught in the fabric.
Sasha, the Earth Council seat, and Mica were already munching on some cheese
and fruits.

Brent inclined
his head towards Mica and reached past him for some bread. “Some night eh,
Mica?”

“Indeed. Did
you
teach Kilen to hold elements like that?” His voice was rough and full of
disdain for the boy.

“I did not. He
must have learned that from his short time with the Elders. I’ve often wondered
what kind of training they conduct there. Weapon bearer’s always seem to be
skilled in things we as wizards do not understand.”

“Yes. Well, they
certainly have outdone themselves this time.” His words gave the illusion of
reverence for Kilen but dripped of sarcasm.