Offspring (The Sword of the Dragon) (39 page)

“Yes, my lady!” He vaulted a fence and raced like a deer across a field to the north. Oganna smiled. He might not be the fastest in the whole of the Hemmed Land, but perhaps someday he would prove that his boast had carried a grain of truth.

On the next day as they passed through a smaller town of wood and stone houses, Vectra curled back her lips to reveal her teeth to an onlooker. The people waved, grinning up at her, and the megatrath’s face lit up. She swung around, facing Oganna. “Now
that
is what I call a good beginning to a long relationship!”

Oganna, riding on Vectra’s neck, waved back to the townsmen, but she hardly noticed them. The closer they came to Fort North, the more she wondered why her father had not yet been able to stop the vipers from attacking human settlements. Had he run into a deeper problem than he’d anticipated, or were there simply more of the creatures than he’d assumed?

Surely with the sword given him by the dragon, mere desert vipers did not present a continuing threat. If, however, the Art’en had returned—

D
arkness shrouded the forest as Ilfedo watched silent and still, beside a large oak tree. Beyond the trees the late evening mist curled its blue fingers over the desert sand. The viper snakes were not known to leave the safety of the desert climate, but for some time now they had been seen within the Hemmed Land’s border. The reports had come in sporadically at first, then deaths were reported, and people were found poisoned in their beds with viper’s fang marks on their necks.

Something strange was afoot. Ilfedo could feel it. Ever since he had first organized an ambush for the vipers, he had felt moody. The slightest remark from a close friend sometimes made him angry. His shortness of temper started after his first night—when he had been standing guard—just as he was now. A feeling of evil had loomed over him, only for a moment, but it was long enough to make the hair on his head prickle.

He blinked his eyes as a splash of cold wind blew across his face. His ears listened for a sound, and with his eyes he searched the forest floor. The leaves by his feet rustled, and he discerned a reptilian head tasting his boot with its tongue. He slid his hand over the pommel of his sword and wrapped his fingers around the handle. The sound of the viper’s soft, dreadful hissing caused him to tense. The creature reared its head back and moved to strike.

In a flash he slid the sword of the dragon from its sheath. The living fire leaped forth, and he severed the snake’s head in a precise stroke. The armor of living fire covered his body as he scanned the ground. It was as he’d suspected—the forest floor’s leafy carpet teemed with desert vipers. Their hissing grew in volume as they sighted him. He dove to the side as several flung themselves from the trees. Their fanged jaws snapped as they struck where his head had been.

He held his sword at arm’s length, pointed its blazing tip at the invaders, and spun. The fire of his sword spewed forth, set the ground ablaze, and drove the serpents back. Hundreds of smoking snake corpses twisted on the ground. He walked forward, sidestepped a burning log, and continued to burn out the vipers.

Once the vipers had begun to retreat, he raised his left arm and motioned for his hidden warriors to join him. He had two hundred men with him that had been trained by the Warrioresses. Each of them drew a sword made by the master sword smith Linsair, and armor of light covered their bodies. The light from their swords combined with his own and blazed beneath the trees as if a thousand lanterns hung from the branches.

Ilfedo wrinkled his nose at the smell of burnt flesh mixed with the freshly spilled blood of those serpents chopped up by his men. An oppressive darkness began to cloud his mind. It bore down on him as if stifling his ability to think for himself. He felt enraged, furious—yet he could not explain why. The men had moved a little distance off. He could see them combing the forest and slaying vipers as they went.

The feeling of darkness maddened him, and he found himself gritting his teeth. “Get out!” For a moment he felt relief, but the oppression returned, and he spotted a serpent slithering up a tree. He gripped the sword of the dragon in both hands and swung it with all his strength. The blade glowed white and severed the tree’s trunk. He stepped back and breathed deeply as the tree toppled and crashed to the ground.

Enraged that the darkness still stuck in his mind, he rushed into the forest, joined the fray, and slew every serpent he came upon. The remaining vipers rushed toward the desert, and he scorched them with his weapon.

Ombre came to him then and pulled him aside.

The oppression didn’t seem to be affecting him any more. Ilfedo calmed himself enough to talk. “What is it, Ombre? I am a little busy right now.”

Ombre slid his drawn sword into his sheath and nodded. “These vipers are acting possessed. What do you know about them?”

“Know about them? What do you mean
know?
They are poisonous serpents, reptilian—”

“And they are
intelligent
.” Ombre jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “One of our men claims that one of these
serpents
just begged for its life.”

“Impossible!” Ilfedo felt a growing frustration. He fought it in order to retain control over his actions.

Ombre beckoned to a young man standing a short distance from them. His head hung as if in shame, his sword lowered so that its point rested on the ground, and the light of his armor dimmed. As he stepped forward, he gave Ilfedo a quick bow.

“Dispense with the pleasantries, warrior.” Ilfedo thwacked a tree root with his sword. “Tell me what happened.”

“Well, my lord, I found a viper in a tree as it attempted to evade our attack. I swung my sword to cut off its head, but before I killed it, the serpent gave me a piteous look and cried out, ‘Mercy! Oh, please have mercy!’ It was too late to withhold my blade, and I ended up killing it. I once vowed, as did all warriors trained by the Warrioresses, that I ‘will bear the sword of light with wisdom, that I will live to serve justice, and that I will die for the innocent. I live to serve justice, and I am committed to showing mercy rather than vengeance.’ It is our code of honor, and I have shamed it.”

Ombre patted the younger man’s shoulder. “You have not shamed it,” he said. “The remorse you have shown proves to me that your heart is right. Now, go back to the fort. We are about finished here.”

“Yes, my lord.” Sheathing his weapon, the young man ran into the forest and was lost to sight.

“Well, what do you think of that?” Ombre shook his head.

“Of what?”

Ombre laughed nervously. “You are kidding me, right? Ilfedo, this alters our perception of these creatures. If they are intelligent, then we could consider negotiating with them and finding out what has driven them here. If nothing else, the fact that they are intelligent means we should consider alternatives to exterminating them.”

“It changes
nothing
, Ombre!” Ilfedo recognized how wrong his words were as soon as he said them. Yet, somehow, he could not change his attitude. He jumped up a nearby tree and snagged a four-foot-long viper that was hiding in the crook of a branch. “Well now, if these creatures are intelligent, and they can talk, then I think it’s about time we took a prisoner.” He ignored his friend’s frown and squeezed the viper so that it could not move.

“Ilfedo, what’s wrong with you? Why would we make a prisoner of this creature? If they are intelligent, then we need to find out why they have come.”

“Before, I would have said no. Now, I say
yes
.” He laughed uncomfortably. The oppression filled his mind again. It weighed like a burden on his shoulders. He shook it off and faced his friend. “War is war, Ombre. If these creatures
are
intelligent, then they also have a choice. They have made theirs, and I have made mine.”

The viper in his hands opened its fanged jaws. Its round eyes looked desperate, and its plea sounded almost like a whimper. “Mercy?”

Ilfedo shook his head at Ombre. “See what I mean? Even hint at going soft on our enemies, and they take advantage of us.”

Ombre glared. “You
are
in command, Ilfedo, so what are your orders?”

Glancing back toward the desert, Ilfedo laughed. “Eradicate them.” He handed the viper to his friend and ordered him to bring it to Fort North.

His friend growled at him through gritted teeth. Ilfedo couldn’t blame him. Why was he acting this way? What was this dark oppression that wouldn’t release him? He knelt with his sword and held it as if begging for it to drive away the darkness in his soul.

A halo of white light surrounded him and peace filled him. He felt a woman’s hands caress his neck, he heard the sound of her breathing in his ear, and he recognized the voice of his wife. “Take care, my love, for the wicked are seeking your destruction.”

Daylight replaced the night, and a lush field stretched as far as his eye could see. Dantress stood before him, just as lovely as the day he’d met her. Her smooth, olive skin felt warm to his touch, and her lips dripped with sweetness. She smelled like spring flowers and a fresh breeze. He wrapped her in his arms, wishing with all his heart that this was not a dream.

She laughed, and a smile spread over her face as she tickled him until he laughed too. He knew that he should not get carried away with this dream, but he couldn’t help it. He did not care. The world meant nothing to him when she had been in his life and now … now that she was dead, he cared even less. Often he’d hoped and prayed for death because it alone could reunite him with her.

Dantress embraced him and looked up into his eyes. “This moment cannot last much longer, my love. I am here now, not because I wished it, but because it was allowed. You are in grave danger and so is our child. You must not let anything happen to her.”

“Danger.” He looked around. “Danger from what?”

She leaned against his chest, and her eyes burned with flames. “Beware of them, Ilfedo. They are an ancient race, full of evil.” She directed his attention to the darkening sky.

Creatures having the bodies of men and the wings of eagles dove toward him. He felt their evil pressing upon him, yet he could also feel
her
body against his. He clutched her close, shut his eyes, and kissed her.

“The Art’en will not harm you as long as I am with you,” he said as he stroked her long, dark hair.

She laughed a quiet laugh, then turned to him with sober eyes. “No, my love, they will not harm
you
, so long as
I
am at your side. And I will be with you whenever you need me, even when you don’t believe that it is possible.”

The creatures and the daylight dissolved around him, replaced by the forest where he knelt. He rose, sheathed his sword, and then fixed his eyes on the desert. Something moved from behind a tree, then hid behind another. A dark-featured man sprinted out of the forest and raced across the sand. The fellow glanced behind him and leaned on a tall staff with an orb at its head. Ilfedo knit his brow. The figure stopped for only a moment, then ran on. But Ilfedo knew that wasn’t one of his men. He puzzled over it for a few moments as the man disappeared across the distant sands. He shrugged, and walked away. There would be another day to find out who or what that was.

I
lfedo strode down the main hallway on his way through Fort North’s primary structure, his boots clapping the rough-hewn wood floors. The smell of pine lay heavy in the air. He waited for the guards to open the door to his right, then entered and shut the door behind him.

“Well, my little prisoner, welcome to Fort North.” He took a seat opposite a metal cage.

The four-foot viper curled in a corner of the small prison, the metal bars set close together in order to keep the creature from escaping. It stared back at him with wide, black eyes.

“Do you have a name?”

The creature remained silent.

Ilfedo crossed his arms and shook his head. “You’ve already been in that cage for several days. Do you want to remain there?” He paused before continuing. “I can get you out—back to your little home in the sand. But first you have to answer my questions.”

It cocked its head and opened its mouth. “Mercy?”

“No. No
mercy
today, my little enemy. At least, not until you help me learn what I want to know. You and your friends have been thorns in my side, viper, and I want to know why.”

The viper lunged against the bars, showed its fangs, and snapped its jaws.

Ilfedo stood and kicked the cage to vent his frustration. “Have it your way, viper. But you may regret it.” He left the room. In the hallway he pushed the guards against the wall. “Make sure that
thing
stays locked up!”

“Of … of course, my lord. That is why we are here.”

Ilfedo returned to his quarters, the room that also served as his office. Animal pelts draped the large chair behind his desk, and an embroidered rug covered the floor. Furs overlaid the sofa against the back wall just under the window. Two chairs for guests sat across from his desk. He’d had the walls, made of oak boards, painted a cheerful white and hung the heads of some of his kills thereon. Behind his chair he had tacked a map of the Hemmed Land.