A Shadow Flame (Book 7) (19 page)

Borrican spread his wings and with several powerful pulls through the foggy air, he pulled himself free from the mud, as he watched the Darga close in on Ariana and the others, and he was relieved when a blast of blinding hot flames burst forth from the hand of the mage, Zachary, who was now making his way toward where the princess and the others were fighting. A line of Darga screamed as truefire seared through their flesh and they fell into the water and the mud, but more quickly took their place. Arrayed around Ariana, were Keira, Storm, Kaz and Raz, all wielding swords, each of them stronger than the creatures they faced, and they fought furiously against the oncoming tide of Darga. Still, they were badly outnumbered, and as Borrican flew overtop the battle he saw hundreds more of the Darga closing in on them, and even greater numbers still climbing up onto the muddy shore. He sent his thoughts to Ariana, letting her know that she and Keira, and the others were about to be overrun, but she refused to listen.

"Go!" Ariana yelled. "We will hold them here!"

"No! We must get you to safety," Keira argued as she leapt forward and engaged a Darga.

"I will fight until everyone is safe," Ariana yelled as she drew her long, jeweled dagger and struck at the Darga, helping Keira take the creature down.

"Don't be foolish, squirrel," Keira said. "They fight for you. Let them defend you. Let us defend you."

Unable to blast at the Darga from the air or fight as a dragon for fear of injuring Ariana and the others, Borrican shifted his form and dropped into the fray, between Ariana and the oncoming army of lizard men. Even with the power and strength he retained, he could barely keep the Darga off of him as they immediately swarmed him. As he fought several Darga that kept him from pushing through to Ariana and the others, he watched as the sea of lizard men closed in around them.

Over the din of snarling lizard men and the clashing steel, Borrican heard a shout from somewhere in the fog, past the Darga. Dragon thoughts flowed into his mind, and he was relieved when he felt Kiva's greeting and heard his bellowing roar a moment later. Borrican sent him a vision of what was happening, and how Ariana and the others were surrounded, and Kiva told him that he and Margo had succeeded in freeing Berant's ensorcelled soldiers, and if they could hang on a little longer, they intended to fight their way to them.

Borrican smashed the hilt of his sword into the mouth of a Darga, the he spun around and sliced another across the face with his blade. Another tried to slash at him with its claws, but he ducked back, then he grabbed the creature by the arm and yanked, pulling the Darga off balance. Borrican spun around and drove his knee into the back of the creature's knee, dropping it to the ground, then he slammed the tip of his sword into its side and, with a shove, sent it tumbling toward several more. The air nearby seemed thick all of a sudden, and with a loud crack, a half dozen Darga were slammed to the ground, and Zachary walked overtop their crushed bodies and blasted truefire from his hand toward several more, making sure that his fire went wide of where Ariana and the others were fighting. Borrican leapt toward the group and took out two more Darga that Keira was fighting. Ariana blasted one of the creatures in the face with her flames, and shoved her long dagger into its stomach, then she blocked another Darga that swung a rusty sword toward Kaz.

"Ariana," Borrican yelled as he fended off another Darga. "We have to get you to safety."

"We have to hold them here until everyone is on the ships," she said.

"We can't hold them here," Borrican said. "You can't hold them here."

Borrican felt her anger that he would question her ability to fight, and he sent back what he meant through the bond between them but he could tell that she was not listening.

"Zachary," Borrican yelled to the mage. "Take the princess and get on board that ship. There are many more of these creatures coming."

"Right," Zachary said, and with what was left of his arm, he grabbed Ariana by the waist, threw her over his shoulder, then ran toward the ship.

"Put me down!" Ariana yelled, her fire blazing around her.

"I owed Gregor more than a few favors, and since he isn't around to collect, I'll consider this as being one of them," Zachary said as he dashed through the water.

Borrican hacked at a Darga that tried to grab Ariana from Zachary's shoulder, and another one almost scrambled over the body of the first one, then leapt toward them. Borrican shoved the first Darga aside and jumped out of the water and caught the other Darga, smashing the creature down with a splash. Borrican felt himself pushed underneath, and he looked up through the murky water and saw a Darga standing above him with a sword, and he shoved his own blade upward and drove its tip right through the creature, then he rolled out from underneath its foot as acid blood sprayed into the water. Borrican leapt to his feet and saw the water around Zachary splash in all directions with a loud crack and the impact of his magic sent the mage upward through the air, and he landed on the rail of the ship and let Ariana down onto the deck.

"I did not ask for your help," Ariana said, crossly.

"Well your Kandaran prince did, and I think he has the right of it," Zachary said. "You're a blasted fool, putting your own allies at risk, letting yourself get surrounded like that. Don't be so selfish, lass."

"Selfish?" Ariana was furious. "I was trying to protect my people."

"Their job is to protect you, and don't you forget it," Zachary told her. "If you put yourself in danger then you're putting them in danger, do you understand?"

"I can take care of myself," Ariana said, feeling as though she had just been scolded by a parent, and it was both strange and upsetting that the mage might be the closest thing to a father she had in this world.

"I don't doubt that," Zachary replied, his tone softening. "I should point out that you're standing on a ship made of dry wood and rope, so you might think about putting those flames of yours away."

Ariana noticed the smell of burning wood and she quickly released her power. The deck of the ship around her was already smoldering, and if it were not still wet from the rain earlier, she realized that it could easily have caught fire.

"You are right," Ariana said with a frown. "Perhaps I should be more careful."

"It is very difficult for me to look at you," Zachary said, his expression pained for a moment, then he shook his head and looked down at the shore. "Since that there isn't an entire kingdom that cares if I live or die, with your permission, I will go and help rid the world of a few lizards, and try to protect your people on your behalf."

"Yes, thank you," Ariana said, and Zachary smiled at her with a sigh, then he leapt from the rail. She watched him land heavily in the water, the impact moving a circle of water around him to the dry bottom, then she saw him begin blasting a path back through the Darga that had surrounded Keira, Margo, Borrican, Storm, Kaz and Raz. Ariana knew he was right, that even though she was powerful, she had other responsibilities, and while her position made her valuable, it also made her vulnerable, and more importantly, it could also make those around her vulnerable. From the rail of the ship, she could see just how many Darga there were, and how like a swarm of insects they were, but when Zachary shot his fire through them, in the haze of the fog, she saw something else. What looked like a group of soldiers was driving back the tide of Darga, and she was amazed at how fiercely they fought, hacking away at the more powerful lizard creatures and cutting them down. More and more soldiers came into view and, among them she also saw the familiar armor of the elves, taking down even more of the Darga. Suddenly, the lizard men turned and fled into the night and, as quickly as it had begun, the battle ended.

A cheer erupted from the soldiers and the sailors on the ships, many of whom had their hands to weapons and had looked like they would join the fray, but Ariana noticed that none of the soldiers on the ground cheered at their victory, at having driven off the Darga. Instead, they formed into ordered ranks and set about restoring order in the boarding of the ships. Borrican leapt up onto the netting on the side of the ship and pulled himself up over the rail where Ariana stood.

"Quenta and his elven warriors pursue the Darga," he said. "I think a hundred elves should set a good number of the foul creatures running."

"What of the other soldiers?" Ariana asked. "Have they been freed from Calexis' magic?"

"So it seems, and it appears they are rather serious about it," Borrican replied as the first of them began boarding the ships."

"Why do Berant's soldiers have their hands dyed red?" she asked him.

"That I do not know," he said. "But from the slow burning anger I can feel coming from most of them, I would rather not ask.

"I am sorry for not heeding your warning, Borrican," Ariana said.

"It is fine," he said, and she felt a sense of worry and warmth through the bond they shared. "I just want us all to make it through this in one piece."

"I know," she said, and he smiled at her, then he turned and looked down at the last of the soldiers who were climbing up onto the ship and spotted Margo and Keira on their way up the rope netting.

"Margo might know what the red hand is about," he said, as he helped her onto the ship. "Glad you made it back to us."

"Just in time, it seems," she said as Borrican reached out a hand and helped Keira aboard. "The stones worked and they have all been set free, but it is just like the people at Kandara. They all remember everything that happened to them, and all the things they did."

"Do you know why their hands are red?" Borrican asked.

"It is something they chose on the way here," Margo said. "It represents the blood on their hands for the things they did."

"But those things aren't their fault," Ariana said.

"Maybe not, but it was their hands that carried out the deeds, and none of them will ever forget that," Margo said. "I asked Berant about it, and he feels the same. What they want now is to kill Calexis and take back their kingdom."

"I won't question that," Ariana said. "Nor will I question how they deal with what they suffered." She turned to Borrican. "I hope once this is over, we can somehow heal things between the people of Kandara and Maramyr."

"That is a far better battle, one I would rather be fighting," he said as the ship began to move.

"Dare I ask how an entire ship can move without a sail?" Margo asked.

"When the gods walk among us, many things become possible," Ariana said.

*****

Brian led the group along the passageway and carefully opened the secret door that led to the deep stone basement beneath the Academy, then he checked to see if there were any of Calexis' guards about. All was quiet, but unlike the tunnels, which the voices of the keepers had lit at Kroma's request, the room was almost completely dark, so the god used a little of his power to make the gemstones on Brian's armor radiate a faint light that was just bright enough for everyone to see the room, the tall stairway and the door at the top. Once they were sure they knew the layout of the room, Brian left them there with instructions to keep an ear to the door, and once fighting broke out in the city, they were to get as many of the people out of the city into the tunnels as possible, even if they had to capture them, for they were likely under the power of some magic.

Brian brought another group down a different tunnel to the cellar of the inn he had visited once, and left them there with similar instructions, then he brought Fergus and the rest of the Bordermen down another tunnel that led toward the palace. They were a small group, the ones the voices had accepted and who had been willing to take the oath to defend the keep, which had made it possible for them to enter the chamber that stored jeweled armor and weapons like those that Brian wore and carried, weapons and armor that he now understood had been made in a different age, very long ago.

"
Kroma,
" Brian said, in his thoughts as he led the others to the palace.

"
Yes, Brian?
" the god rumbled in his head.

"
If the purpose of the godswords is to take the power of another god, then why are there so many of these weapons?
"

"
I would think that the answer to that would be obvious,
" Kroma said.

"
But there are only five gods, well four now that Stroma has been killed,
" Brian said. "
There were two elder gods, Stroma and Ayra, and you said they were like your parents.
"

"
In a way, yes,
" Kroma said.

"
So you and Kenra, and the goddess Mara, are younger gods.
"

"
Yes, we are younger than Stroma and Ayra. They are from the time before.
"

"
And the godswords are also from the time before?
"

"
They are.
"

"
What about the voices, the keepers?
" Brian asked, then he answered his own question. "
They must be as well, since they guarded that room of godswords and armor. And these tunnels and passageways must be from then also, and the old stonework at White Falls that gives me strength. These things must all be ancient.
"