The Contention (24 page)

“He has brought giants to Valdadore, driving them to his master.”

The sky was growing bright, the streets already beginning to fill with those rising to perform their daily tasks. Looking ahead, Sara pulled down the visor to her helm, protecting her eyes and face from the sun’s devastating rays.

“Of course Borrik would be bringing giants to Valdadore,” Sara shouted in jest. “Why on Thurr would he not?”

With that Sara began to pump her legs faster, each stride stretching out unnaturally. Jonas dropped to all four of his massive limbs to keep pace. Together the dark princess and the feral beast of a man raced through the streets of Valdadore, sending people scattering amidst screams of panic. It took less than a quarter of an hour to reach the gate. As the frightful pair left the city they could see, in the distance ahead, a man dressed in black upon a great white war horse galloping away from the city, accompanied by wolfmen, as large forms appeared on the horizon.

*****

Borrik ran like a crazed beast across the fields growing ever nearer to Valdadore. For days he had been running from the enormous four-armed monsters on his trail, and though he could set a pretty impressive pace, the giants needed only one stride to his many. So it was as Borrik began to tire, his muscles straining beyond their limits, that he used his telepathic connection to his men within the city to relay a message to his master. Seth had answered his call and even now Borrik could see him charging across the fields towards him, a pack of werewolves leaping and barking to either side of their master.

Seth had commanded him to bring him beasts with traits that Borrik himself would want in order to become a champion unlike any other. Immediately Borrik had known what it was he wanted, and so he had run with all haste in a direct path to the mountains where he could find the massive race of men. Locating a small tribe, little more than a family really, Borrik had set fire to their enormous dwellings created of woven trees and vines. After destroying their homes it had taken little effort to get the clan of giants to chase him. Borrik had not anticipated their stamina, however, thus he had been running for near four days straight without a single stop to eat, drink or even to relieve himself. Even so the giants were gaining on him, but they would not reach him before his master did.

Exhausted beyond measure, Borrik could not help but smile, baring the rows of razor sharp teeth within his canine mouth, as Prince Seth, upon a great imperial war horse, skidded to a stop just twenty yards in front of the alpha werewolf.

*****

Though he realized the situation was dire indeed, and Borrik was in great need of help, Seth could not help himself but to laugh openly when given the message of his second-in-command’s plight. Only Borrik would seek out a clan of giants and attempt to single-handedly lure them to the city of Valdadore. Knowing time was of the essence, Seth gave orders for the streets to be cleared. Changing his course, he intercepted a member of the army of one rank or another, and commandeered the soldier’s mount. With his men racing ahead to clear the streets, Seth made it to the gates of the city in no time, and exploded from the outer wall, his mount propelling them forward at an astonishing speed. Fortunately for Seth the army was now gathered at the western gate of the city, and Borrik came from the east, making it an open path ahead to the giants that he could already see growing on the horizon.

Just a few minutes later Seth picked out Borrik’s fleeing form, and counted seven giants on his tail. To either side of him his hybrid troops lunged parallel to his course, all of them racing upon all four limbs, their clawed fingers and toes digging into the soil with each bound. Each of his troops was already amazing, yet he planned to make a few of them even more so. Racing ahead, nearing his second-in-command with each moment, Seth noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see another familiar sight.

More than a mile away from Borrik, though running parallel to him, was a pair of slender bodies bounding through the fields towards Seth, covering great expanses of ground with each leap. The pair of exotic feline girls had been missing for weeks, though Seth was not concerned. It was their words that had reassured him that when needed, they would be present. A kitty always knows where its master is. It seemed all of his creations would be in attendance for the upcoming battle with King Sigrant.

As Borrik and the feline sisters converged on their master, the girls altered course to avoid the pack of werewolves, but Borrik appeared as if he was going to run straight into Seth. Fearing this might actually be the case, Seth pulled on his reins hard, his mount plunging its hooves into the soft soil beneath it and literally sliding to a halt as the great charcoal-colored werewolf screeched to a stop as well, and bowed low to greet his master.

“My sacrifice to your cause, my prince,” Borrik panted, his arm sweeping through the air, gesturing at the huge beasts that pursued him.

As if to prove the werewolf’s point, the ground began to shake and heave as the massive giants grew nearer. Seth simply smiled at Borrik, shaking his head in disbelief.

”They are a great prize indeed, Borrik, and I assure you, you will be rewarded,” Seth stated, already locking on to his first target.

With a thought, the nearest giant crumpled to a pile of ash the size of a small house. Seth reveled in the pleasure that coursed through his veins as the life of the giant flowed into him. A giant it seemed required an immense amount of power to sustain its life, and these seven alone would equate to hundreds of human lives. Locking the power away, Seth chose another target and then another. Within naught but a few moments, the giants were no more, leaving nothing but discarded belongings and ash behind to bear witness to the fact they had ever existed at all. His task completed, Seth turned his horse and raced back towards the city without a word. To either side a small contingent of his werewolf troops raced on all fours, as if their living god might need their protection.

Halfway across the expanse between where he had felled the giants and the city gate he had exited, Sara and Jonas joined him. Seth was caught quite off guard as he raced towards Sara, when she leapt into the air. Grabbing his shoulder as she fell from the sky, she twisted her body around to sit behind him upon the saddle, wrapping her arms around him tightly. It seemed to Seth that at present there was little Sara could not manage when it came to physical abilities. She was becoming more and more comfortable with her new body.

Before reaching the city gates Seth turned his mount to race around the city walls, assuming it would be faster to circumvent the city than ride through its crowded streets. With the army preparing to march, Seth still had much he wanted to accomplish before that time came. Thanks to his most faithful servant, it would now be easier than he had previously thought to carry out the things he had planned.

Now it was time for a few more volunteers.

Chapter 13

Found Entries and Lost Armies

For more than a week Linaya, led by Zorbin Ironfist, had traversed hidden passes within the Rancor Mountains known to none but the dwarves. They had climbed steep cliffs and braved dark gorges, but still had not found that which they were seeking. Each day they had hopes of gaining entry to the subterranean kingdom of the dwarves, yet thus far the destination still remained an unachievable end to their journey.

Though at first Linaya was uncomfortable in the presence of the dwarf, it had become apparent that, unlike most men she had the displeasure to share company with, Zorbin did not lust after her. On realizing this new and alien predicament, Linaya allowed herself to relax. Henceforth each day had been filled with friendly conversation, for which both travelers were thankful. It was during one such conversation, a discussion of childhood dreams and fantasies, that a slight tremble reverberated through the stone beneath their mounts. Pausing a moment to listen, Zorbin’s eyes shot wide open and without a word to Linaya he drove his heels into Zanth’s flanks and the two rocketed off along the narrow mountain pass they were now traveling through.

Caught completely off guard, Linaya followed suit, hoping as her mount exploded forward that they would not careen into a rocky wall of death, or off the edge of some unseen cliff. She could not see the dwarf ahead for all of the twists and turns in the trail, but she could hear Zanth’s armor clattering and as such she shouted ahead.

“What happened?” Linaya yelled at the top of her lungs, hoping the dwarf up ahead would hear her.

“We are near the sixth warren’s gate to Boulder Gate and the rumbling means it is either opening or closing!” Zorbin shouted from somewhere up ahead.

Moments later, Linaya rounded a blind bend in the pass and yanked back hard on the reins. Sliding to a halt, she watched as Zorbin leapt from Zanth’s back and raced up to an ever narrowing void in the stone wall of the pass. Before the dwarf made it halfway to the opening he was blocked by another dwarf wearing metal armor of the likes Linaya had never seen before. Linaya was momentarily distracted by the dwarf’s armor and so was unaware of what was being said, but she could not help her fascination. Every inch of the gray-bearded man was covered in what appeared to be polished scales of gold and silver, with the center of each and every scale containing a brilliant gemstone. The wealth embodied in this singular set of armor could feed a small town for many seasons. Linaya wondered if this man were the king himself, and dismounted her imperial war horse in hopes of gaining her audience with him this very moment.

It was not long before she realized her error, overhearing the elderly dwarf joking about Zorbin’s hideous choice of mate. Though it would have been easy for Linaya to become angry about the jest made at her expense, she knew that it was a mere joke and no harm would come of it. Thus decided, Linaya thought it better to stand back and let Zorbin do the talking. Within moments her decision was rewarded with a gesture from her traveling companion. Together they gathered their mounts and entered the underground realm of the dwarves.

*****

Though Garret had marched off with the army of Valdadore near two hours before, Seth had remained behind with Sara, Borrik, Eve, the small contingent of werewolf troops he had at present, and a handful of human volunteers. Eve was already beginning to test her wings and at present was flapping furiously, regularly adjusting her wing placement, span, and the way she cupped the air beneath them. She had managed a moment earlier to lift herself off the ground, but had been so surprised by the achievement, she had not noted exactly how she had done it and was now trying to recreate the event.

Borrik was presently relaying information back and forth between his troops and Seth. The werewolves reported the current position of the enemy troops and were subsequently ordered to rush ahead of them to the newly formed lake to be retrieved by Seth the following day. Nobody was quite sure how Seth would manage the feat, but if he said it would be done, then they all trusted it would be so. No more would Sigrant’s supply lines be harried by otherworldly beasts. Battle would now be coming to Valdadore more swiftly than before.

Meticulously Seth altered his chosen human champions, giving them each bits and pieces of the menagerie contained within him, creating of them warriors straight out of a child’s nightmare. One, a man named Corinth, now resembled a stone lizard which was a blessing of three parts. First, his skin was thicker than leather armor, making him naturally less likely to be injured. Second, he could change the color of his flesh to blend in with his surroundings. Third, he had gained the amazing ability of lizards to regenerate, something he noticed soon after being altered. It seemed a childhood injury had claimed one of the man’s toes, but after the alteration he watched as the appendage quickly grew back. If that were not enough, Seth outfitted the man in enchanted armor giving him the ability to size shift as well as burst into flames without being harmed.

Another two champions of Seth’s choosing had been melded with goats with long curling horns. To this Seth added very small portions of an aura from a giant causing them each to grow to nearly twelve feet tall. With human heads adorned by the battering-ram horns, and human-like torsos with four arms each, a man named Blithe and a woman named Varina stood upon hoofed, hair-covered legs, both of them able to jump incredibly high, wield four weapons at a time and bash anything with their heads without receiving injury. To these Seth added several more grotesque creatures designed purely for appearance in hopes of scaring the enemy. All of his champions he dressed in blessed armor or armed them with weapons of assorted makes carrying various enchantments to help them upon the field of battle.

One after another, for nearly five hours, Seth falsely blessed a dozen human champions. In case they should survive the approaching battle, he poured several lifespans of power into their bodies as a reward for their service; each of his champions would live centuries. Finished with his human volunteers, Seth took a moment to observe Eve as she gently lifted off the ground and hovered several feet in the air, her wings flapping in a steady rhythm before settling once more to the ground.

*****

Sara watched as Seth performed transformation after transformation, turning ordinary people into demons of another world. Oddly each of them was thankful for the change, though Sara scarcely understood why. Borrik’s alteration had led him and some of his men to violently rape several women. Sara’s changing had turned her into a bloodthirsty monster who fed upon others of her own kind. She could not even imagine what might be the negative side effects of some of these more peculiar transformations. And apparently Seth had saved the best for last.

Sara continued to watch as Seth, calling Borrik to his side, strode away from the rest of those who remained behind with him. Master and servant seated themselves in the grass, and it appeared to Sara that Seth placed unseen items upon Borrik, or perhaps drew upon the werewolf with his fingertips in an odd manner. Nearly an hour later, Seth gave Borrik a finely crafted bracer which the alpha werewolf quickly slid onto his left wrist.