A Stolen Crown (5 page)

*****

Dakar strode purposefully across the great study where Cerric stood before a series of maps. He hid his displeasure when Cerric ignored his entrance. Dakar wondered how long he could endure this subservience to this common mortal king and reveled in the knowledge that with his own magic he could snuff his life with a thought. Still, the Book was clear that the throne of Maramyr was to be respected and revered, frustrating though that might be. The Council of Priests, of which he was a member, had conferred and decided that the required reverence also extended to the throne’s current occupant, for the time being. Dakar hoped that when the One God was raised, he would finally be rid of this petty and troublesome king.

Cerric had long used members of the priesthood as ambassadors and messengers since they could, when necessary, travel with the aid of their magic and they were fairly secure from attack since few would dare accost a mage. As much as the mage priests assisted the king in this manner, they also used their trusted position to their own benefit. Dakar had read every piece of correspondence that had left the king’s chamber for more than a year and it was this latest letter that had incensed him when Dakar had realized what it meant. Cerric was brokering an alliance with the Xallan Queen, to go to war with Kandara, and while that was part of the plan the priesthood had set in motion, Cerric's method of forming that alliance had been something of a surprise.

“I have heard some rather interesting rumors, your highness,” Dakar said. Cerric did not turn but rather kept his gaze intently on a map of Kandara.

“What rumors have you heard, Dakar?” Cerric was not surprised in the least at the mage’s visit.

“That you are planning an alliance with the Xallan Queen in your attack on Kandara.” Dakar said. Cerric laughed.

“I had not thought that to be a great secret but yes, that is what I am planning."

Dakar cleared his throat.

"I have also heard that you have proposed marriage to the Xallan Queen," Dakar added.

Cerric looked up from his map.

“Need I remind you, highness that we must devote ourselves to the preparations for the ceremony of the One.” He knew that this would not go over with the king. Cerric looked at him, with imperious scorn.

“And I have given you free reign to do whatever you need to prepare for your ceremony," Cerric told him. "I have allocated money and labor, the wealth of my kingdom to support this monstrous temple you black robes are building. Besides, when this God comes, he will see how I have conquered in his name and know that I am a truly noble king. But what is a king without an heir? And why settle for a kingdom when I could have an empire?”

Dakar could see the glimmer of greed in Cerric's eyes. The man truly was obsessed with his own greatness now that he had attained the power he had coveted for so long, and Dakar thought it might be time to reign in this usurper king a little bit, reminding him that just because he wore a crown, he was not all powerful.

“How do you propose to conquer Kandara, my lord, when the mages of the priesthood will be devoting their energies to the coming of the One? We will be unable to assist you, especially if the Kandarans call the dragons of the north.” Dakar wondered if Cerric had forgotten about the fearsome creatures that were long fabled to protect the mountain kingdom.

“There are no dragons in Kandara," Cerric scoffed. "Their existence is either a myth or they have long since died out."

“And if it is not a myth?” Dakar asked. The revelations of the book had shown images of dragon fire, so it certainly was possible.

“Then I suppose my army will face a challenge. Still, I expect that if dragons were to cross the battlefield, I can count on the support of the Priesthood,” Cerric said with a little less challenge in his voice. Dakar smiled.

“Do you wish to force our hand in this?” Dakar asked, as though the thought had only just occurred to him. “If you are attacked, then we will be forced to defend you since we of the priesthood have sworn to do so. Very clever.”

“I thought you might like it.” Cerric grinned. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This war will be fought on the ground and, based on the way negotiations are going, I believe that Calexis will agree to aid me with many of her soldiers. With the might of our combined armies, Kandara will fall and we will share in the riches of that barbaric mountain land.” Dakar nodded slowly.

“My king, I cannot prevent you from a war with Kandara, but I can counsel you to caution. A war with Kandara will be very costly and will burden your lands. Be sure that the Xallans are firm in their support and commit themselves as much as do you. Calexis is truly a poweful queen, but she did not get that way by ignoring opportunities. If the power of Maramyr grows weak from the struggle of war, I would not be surprised should she choose such a moment to take advantage of your weakness,” he warned. Cerric smiled.

“That is why I have proposed marriage to the Xallan Queen. If she accepts, then we will attack Kandara together, bearing equally the burden of such an undertaking. Fear not, mage, for as much as I am taken with Calexis, I would not be so foolhardy as to trust her.”

“Very well. I will assign several mage priests as ambassadors to Kandara, that they might at least gather information under the guise of interceding in this conflict. If you are determined upon this course, then we might as well do what we can to ensure a speedy victory,” Dakar conceded, irritated at even the small offer he was making, though, the truth of it was that Cerric's actions fit quite neatly into the Priesthood's own plans.

“You have my gratitude, Dakar.” Cerric put his hand on the mage’s shoulder briefly then turned back to his maps. “Why should I not rule all of these lands?” He waved his hand in front of the entire map. “Kandara will be but one small addition to which will be the greatest empire this world has ever seen.”

Dakar nodded then exited the room, leaving Cerric to dream of glory and riches. It was not a bad plan, but he wondered how difficult Calexis would prove to manage. Already the mage-priests in Xalla-Prime had sent him many disturbing reports.

*****

Screams echoed through the palace despite the mages’ best attempts to magically dampen the sound. The mage priest Shadar, head of the Xallan order of the priesthood had returned to Xalla-Prime from Blue Island, the mage retreat far to the west, to discover that one of his lesser brethren had permitted something unspeakable to happen. He had not been informed of Calexis' plans, and now the queen was with child and an abomination was soon to be born.

Mere weeks after Calexis’ audience, as it was referred to by those who knew, with the two Darga, she had grown full with child and her own body had become very much altered beyond the usual signs of pregnancy. Shadar had heard that among the Darga, successful mating among the females would cause a shift in their physical make-up, but he was surprised to see what had happened to the once-human queen.

Shiny scales had grown along her sides and around her breasts all the way up to her neck. They also grew from the small of her back, around her waist and down parts of her legs. Her skin had changed color as well, darkening in certain areas and lightening even more in others. Her face, in particular, had become even paler than it had been before. But these surface things were not what surprised Shadar the most. It was the magic he now sensed in her that gave him pause and made him suspect the changes in Calexis might not be merely physical.

With whatever kind of creature was growing inside her, it was hard to tell much of anything, since the Darga themselves had a kind of natural magical energy that took a different form than traditional magic. Once Calexis was rid of the abomination of the birth she was attempting, the mage would be better able to tell what her powers truly entailed, though now that he had taken the opportunity to examine the Xallan queen more closely, as far as he could discern, Calexis appeared to have some power to her that was hers alone.  It was not enough that it would have attracted the attention of the Priesthood, but enough that she could probably do certain things if properly trained. That small amount of power, while not enough to make her suceptible to the power of the book, had coupled with the changes she was experiencing from her Darga pregnancy, now might make her more difficult to control.

Shadar watched Calexis from a short distance as sweat glistened across her brow and the cords stood out on her neck as she pushed, trying to birth whatever was growing inside of her. Midwives rushed around the room, bringing more cloth and water to the bed, which ran black with the queen’s altered blood. The mage searched her with his power and could feel the weakness beginning to take hold in Calexis. She had already bled badly for two days, straining with the birth but still she labored on. The midwives were afraid and little could have prepared them for what they were about to see.

Calexis took a deep breath then she froze with a look of panic on her face. Suddenly she screamed then choked as the contraction took hold. Shadar and the midwives watched as the queen’s stomach began to shift lower until, at her opening, something began to appear. Flesh tore and she bled heavily for a moment, which then stopped as the pressure of something dark slowly slipped from her birth canal and into the outside world. With a wrenching sob, the queen felt the oversized burden slide out of her and her body fell back on the cushions.

On the bed between her legs was a translucent bag covered in dark, viscous liquid and reddish black blood. Calexis breathed heavily from exhaustion and pain, unable to lift her head to see what had come out of her. One of the midwives slowly reached out a hand but pulled it back as the thing on the bed moved slightly.

“Don’t touch him!” Calexis snapped and raised her head with a wild look in her eyes.

The midwives looked to the mage Shadar and he nodded, motioning them away from the queen. They gladly left the room, not caring to stay any longer. It mattered very little what they thought since, like every member of the palace staff, Shadar had placed a spell on them the moment he had returned to Xalla-Prime. None of them could speak of what had happened in this room or of the queen’s experience with the Darga. Shadar had explained very clearly that the spell would kill them before they could give voice to such thoughts, and it had only taken a few deaths from idle gossip to make the point clear. For now, Callexis' pregnancy would remain a secret.

Now Shadar wondered whether he could protect his queen from herself. He watched as Calexis painfully closed her legs and reached for the wet bundle, pulling it towards her chest with the cord still attached to her. She either did not notice him or she ignored his presence as she held the struggling bulk near her face and opened her mouth. Fangs extended and she bit first into the cord, shreiking as if it gave her pain. Next she carved open the sack with a precision born of instinct rather than skill. Shadar watched as she ate whatever it was that covered it, revealing a creature that looked somehow like a Darga yet was more human than any lizard-man the mage had ever seen.

Like the queen, the child was human in its form yet bore scales over most of its body. Its face was human except for its pale color and the scales that ran to its temples but even Shadar jumped back when the child opened its mouth. A long row of razor sharp teeth graced both the top and bottom of its mouth. When the queen picked up the baby, who was evidently a male, and held it to her breast, the mage watched in horror as sharp fangs extend from the row of teeth and the monstrous child plunged them into her nipple and began to feed, hungrily dribbling rivulets of blood and milk from the corners of its mouth.

Calexis cried out at the sudden pain then she began to laugh quietly. Her eyes rolled back into her head and moaned as though the sensation at her breast was pleasurable in some way. Shadar carefully approached her bed, though he stayed well enough away to retreat if need be. Calexis had already killed three servants and seriously wounded the other mage who had attended her. This last, Shadar thought, was a fitting punishment for the mage's role in allowing this travesty to occur. He stared in both wonderment and horror at the half-Darga child and he nearly jumped back when it opened one of its eyes and stared at him all the while continuing to feed.

“He will grow quickly, my queen,” Shadar told her. Calexis turned a red-rimmed eye to stare at him and something was different about the way she looked at him now. The queen seemed calm, and despite her condition, she appeared stronger, more powerful.

“Yes. He will be a strong warrior,” she said. “And an obedient son.” Shadar frowned.

“I hope he is what you wished for,” he said, wondering of what mind she was about the creature she had borne. Calexis smiled.

“He is perfect. Absolute perfection,” she purred. “His name will be Draxis. You will teach him.” Shadar frowned.

“That may be a difficult job my queen. I have no experience raising Darga children,” he said, turned his head away, unable to stare any longer at the abomination at her breast.

“Does he look like a Darga?” Calexis snapped. The child stopped his feeding for a moment and looked up at the mage, blood and milk running down his pale greyish chin. The queen put her hand gently on her child’s head, drawing him back to her breast. She shuddered again as he sunk his fangs back into the softness of her flesh. “He is my child. With the best the world can offer, he will be stronger than any Darga and more clever than any human for I made him with my magic,” she told her black robed advisor.