Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (84 page)

By now, it was getting dark and the undead forces were gaining strength with the absence of light. The clouds billowed ominously overhead but the expected rain did not fall.

Kazin flew rapidly toward his target. Frosty fell slightly behind but increased his speed to keep pace.

“I’m going to negate all magic directly below us to protect you from any spells directed at you by the enemy mages,” said Frosty mentally. “You’ll have to keep me between you and the ground for it to work. The higher you go, the safer it will be for you, and the easier it will be for me to negate the magic.”

“Understood,” said Kazin.

“Also,” added the unicorn, “you should still be able to use your magic to shield yourself.”

“I’ve never used magic in my dragon form before,” said Kazin. “How do I cast spells without my staff and spell components?”

“Just project your thoughts,” said Frosty. “It’s similar to the magic you used to destroy the portal.”

“Inherent magic?” asked Kazin.

“Exactly,” said Frosty. “All dragons have inherent magic; dragon mages even more so. I’m sorry I didn’t have more time to train you, but you’ll do fine. Just believe in yourself.”

“O.K.,” said Kazin.

“Don’t forget to shield Sherman too!” added Frosty.

Kazin nodded and looked down for a moment. Among the throngs of battlers below, he thought he saw a dwarf raise a milky white axe to salute him.

The bone dragon looked back and was temporarily thrown off guard at the sight of the dragon behind him.

“Well!” it thought smugly. “A worthy opponent at last!” It swerved around and flew toward its new opponent.

Kazin never faltered as he shot like an arrow toward his target. The opponent’s eyes glowed like orbs of red fire, and the air whistled through its bones as it flew. The two titans clashed viciously, and Sherman hung on precariously, unable to make any kind of attack with his sword.

The bone dragon noticed the rider as the two dragons separated, and spit out some of its greenish acid. Sherman frantically held up Jarad’s shield and the acid harmlessly spilled off its surface. Kazin was not so lucky. He didn’t get his shield up in time and was splashed by the poisonous liquid. He shrieked in agony as the acid ate some holes through his left wing, the leathery skin hissing and sputtering.

Kazin flew temporarily out of range and swerved around for another attack. This time when the opposing dragon was within range, Kazin let out a searing blast of fire, immediately before raising his shield. The bone dragon shrieked and sprayed some more of its acid at Kazin, but this time the shield was in place, protecting the dragon and his rider from the acid. The dragons flew past one another without touching and circled for another round. The bone dragon was slightly blackened, but otherwise unscathed.

Kazin blasted the bone dragon with some more fire but the bone dragon was ready with its own shield. Instead of returning fire with acid, the bone dragon raked Kazin’s exposed flank with its claws.

The shield was not strong enough to prevent the force of the attack and Kazin shrieked in pain again, the claws tearing into his side. He spun in fury and channelled all of his energy into his favourite spell. The lightning bolt, ten times stronger with his inherent ability, left his open maw and flew at his adversary. It struck the bone dragon’s shield, penetrating it as though it wasn’t even there, and zapped into the bone dragon’s tail. Pieces of bone shattered and fragments fell into the ignored masses below. The pieces of bone were small in dragon terms, but to the fighters below, it was as if the sky were falling. Many fighters were crushed by the fragments like insignificant ants.

The bone dragon shrieked in rage and flew a short distance away to compose itself for the next assault.

“Let me get a shot in, will ya?” snapped Sherman angrily. “You’re making me sick with all these acrobatics! I can’t hold on very well with my hands full!”

“Sherman’s right,” said Frosty’s calm voice inside Kazin’s mind. “The bone dragon knows your shield can be destroyed, and can use that to its advantage. You don’t have that option. By the time you take out bits and pieces of its body with lightning bolts, you’ll be full of holes. You have to get into close combat with the bone dragon in order for Sherman to strike. I don’t think the dragon will give you too many chances once it knows what you’re up to, though.”

“Just line me up for the job,” said Sherman through clenched teeth. “I’ll do the rest.”

“But I’ll have to leave my shield down for that to work!” objected Kazin.

“I know,” said Frosty, “but there’s no choice.”

Kazin didn’t have time to argue. “Hang on!” he cried. The bone dragon was almost upon them now. At the last possible moment, Kazin swung to the right, narrowly missing the acid the bone dragon had belched forth. Sherman stood up and slashed at the bone dragon’s wing as the two dragons narrowly missed one another. The sword struck true, slicing cleanly through one of the dragon’s wing bones.

The bone dragon flinched and looked back in surprise. The dragon rider had struck him! Not only that, but the sword had cut through his bone like butter! He swerved back for another attack, intent on destroying the impertinent little human. As he neared his adversary, he feinted to the side and then got above his head to concentrate on the dragon’s rider. As he let loose with a thin, but powerful, stream of acid, he saw something that made his heart leap to his throat. The figure, who raised his shield to fend off the acid, was none other than the Guardian!

Stunned, the bone dragon was unshielded as Kazin shrieked from the pain of the acid’s over-spray eating into his flesh. The resulting lightning bolt was sudden and powerful as it struck the bone dragon’s right leg. Fragments of the knee splintered free and rained down on the fighters below like icicles.

The bone dragon shrieked and rage was evident in its voice as it turned to make another attack.

This time the dragons were too close to take a run at each other. They clashed loosely, grappling at one another with teeth and claws. The bone dragon shredded his opponent’s flesh while taking very little damage himself. But he was so engrossed in his close combat struggle that he didn’t notice until too late that the Guardian had climbed up to Kazin’s forearm.

Sherman tried not to look down as he made an extended slash, driving the blade deep into the bone dragon’s jaw. The blade slid up a foot or so on the smooth bone and its tip pierced one of the glowing, red orbs that were one of the bone dragon’s eyes.

The magic of the Sword of Dead crackled and a bright red flash temporarily blinded the big warrior. The bone dragon shrieked in agony, and sprayed its attackers with greenish ooze once more.

Kazin frantically swerved aside and raised his magical shield, but it was too late. The acid did more damage to his left wing. He began to lose altitude quickly.

Sherman lowered his shield and shook off the remaining droplets of acid. The shield was unmarked from the ordeal. The warrior saw the bone dragon as it fled the battle, heading north.

“Kazin!” cried Sherman anxiously. “Why aren’t you going after him? He’s injured! Let me finish him off!”

Kazin didn’t answer and continued his circling descent.

“Kazin?” asked Sherman in sudden concern. He looked around and saw the battered wing. “Oh, no!”

“Just hold on!” said Frosty, suddenly visible in the air beside the dragon. “He needs all of his strength to make a safe landing.”

Sherman looked down at the rapidly approaching ground and groaned. “I hate heights,” he muttered.

The enemy mages had watched the aerial battle in concern, but were unable to assist. Their magic was prevented somehow. The spells controlling their undead forces wavered as well and some of those under the influence of the skull staves regained their senses and spun on their controllers. The mages frantically tried to re-establish their magical control. Fortunately for them, the magic returned as soon as the unicorn above flew out of range. Depending on the delay, some succeeded. Others failed. The commotion created by all this, however, threw the attacking forces into turmoil.

Zylor, seeing that Sherman, as usual, was getting all the hardest opponents, renewed his attacks and rallied his minotaur warriors to fight more fiercely. The dwarves followed suit under Harran’s leadership.

Some of the undead forces misinterpreted the aerial battle as a victory since Kazin was falling, and cheered, thinking their side had won. That joy was short lived when a good portion of the skeletons in the army suddenly keeled over, their false lives at an end. They couldn’t exist without their magic, and that magic had come from their leader, Grakath, who had just flown away with a pierced eye and a bruised ego…

Chapter 70

T
he undead army continued to attack despite their disarray, and everything seemed to drag on. The undead forces were still more numerous, and the darkness allowed them to prevail in strength as well as numbers.

Krendal had returned to the battlefield—against the clerics’ and druid’s wishes. The town’s outer barricades had been regained, and mostly elves defended it now. The number of mages was fewer, and as a result the shield didn’t last as long, so almost all of the mages were put on shield duty. Fortunately the defending elves more than made up for the magical offence with their arrows. Injured townsfolk were set up to produce arrows for the defending elves, and everyone was doing their part.

It was well into the night when lights could be seen in the southeast. The defenders watched breathlessly in between skirmishes to see who it was.

A half hour later, bright flashes and loud explosions in the enemy’s southern flank indicated whose side they were on.

“It’s Fildamir!” cried Krendal excitedly. “Fildamir, you old scoundrel!” The human army had finally come to enter the fray.

The dwarves and minotaurs rallied and pressed forward. The southern human forces joined up with the elves and pushed inward from their side.

A new force also appeared in the northwest under General Larsen’s command. The general and his cavalry plunged into the sea of undead with a dedicated vengeance. These experienced fighters, combined with a contingent of clerics, made short work of any enemy that resisted.

The defenders in the town cheered victoriously but were unaware of their own danger until it was almost too late. Because of the eastern and southern pressure, and the vicious fighting of undead forces in the north by Rubin’s and General Larsen’s forces, the bulk of the enemy was pushed right back into the weaker defenders in Marral.

Lizardmen, goblin wolf riders, orcs, human mages and their zombies all pressed into the town of Marral like water through a sieve. Perenia’s remaining cavalry fought in close combat now. There was no room for charging.

It was probably Perenia’s presence that saved the day for the townsfolk. King Mython, who until now had no idea that Perenia was there, spotted his brave daughter in peril. With a vengeance rarely seen in a centaur, he cut through the enemy like stalks of grass to get to Perenia’s side. His troops rallied to his cry and surged after their king. Any elves riding the centaurs had their hands full simply hanging on for dear life.

The centaurs reached the king’s daughter and almost singlehandedly threw the enemies back toward the dwarves and minotaurs, who were now just visible through the crowd.

Unwilling to be outshone in this war, the elven king rallied his own troops into a massive assault from the south, pouring arrows deep into the surrounded enemy. The pegasi riders, who had pulled back to avoid the bone dragon earlier, converged as one from above, their riders pelting the forces below with magic and arrows.

Enemy mages were slain in greater numbers, and their staves were destroyed. The undead forces they controlled returned to the ground from where they came, and the live zombies regained their minds and spirits. As the sky began to lighten in the east, the remaining undead forces began to lose strength and motivation. Before the sun rose, the enemy was defeated. A number of enemy human soldiers gave themselves up, but none knew what had happened to their leader. A contingent of orcs and goblin wolf riders gave themselves up as well, and were let go with stern warnings not to return to the humans’, dwarves, or minotaurs’ realms.

As for the human mages and lizardmen, not one had given themselves up, preferring to fight to the death rather than be captured.

Rubin looked around at the hordes of skeletons and zombies around him. If anything, they had grown in number since they had entered the battle. He saw how the enemy had acquired such numbers for this battle in the first place. Each death was a victory of sorts, the dead resurrected to join the ranks of undead victors. But this time his forces were the victors. The undead of the enemy were defeated. Now it was time to allow these creatures to get the sleep that was their due.

Rubin held his key-shaped talisman and chanted a sad, lonely chant. All of the skeletons and zombies, including the destroyed ones, sank into the earth as if swallowed, returning to their former graves. When the chant was complete, the talisman flashed brightly and the sailor disappeared from the battlefield as well.

Sir Galado drifted in and out of consciousness, dreams and reality meshing into one. He dreamed of being an undead soldier, one among thousands, serving the will of the necromancer. Then he saw his queen staring down at him kindly, telling him everything was all right. The queen’s eyes were soft and gentle, as they were many years ago before the appearance of Grakath.

Then he was galloping through a portal. He arrived into a wasteland where nothing lived. A woman in a white robe approached him and assured him all was fine. Behind her he saw the Guardian. The Guardian! He dreamed of the days when he and the Guardian were alone, out hunting in the woods. Then the woods became dark and he and the Guardian got separated. He was alone again. He thought he saw his queen through the trees and ran to catch up to her. Instead, he came face to face with Grakath. The advisor raised a hand and prepared to cast a spell. A black wave surged toward him…