Amulet of Souls (The Sentinels of Wizgrad Book 1) (15 page)

“I’m getting weak,” Zelkith said.

With his last burst of energy, Zelkith rushed towards the door and unleashed a bark that broke a small hole in the door. Zelkith barged through the hole and they smashed through.

They landed roughly on the floor and crashed into something large just inside. The door behind them sealed up with ice instantly.

They got themselves up still in a slight daze. They looked around to take in their surroundings. Immediately they noticed the numerous Dragons scattered all around.

Iris looked behind her and recognised they had crashed into Roseflame. Iris felt sorrow in her heart, but she also seemed happy. The fact Roseflame was here meant that they had made it.

“I told you not to follow!” came a voice. Iris saw a face that filled her with glee.

“Mireylon!” she shouted in relief. She ran over towards him and threw her freezing cold arms around him. Beside Mireylon were two icy figures. She looked at one and noticed it was Morton, but she did not recognise the other person.

Iris gave a puzzled look at the other icy figure and asked who he was, but Mireylon had no idea.

They looked up at the large staff that the unknown frozen man held. Out of curiosity, Iris touched the crystal at the end of the staff. A gust of magic shot from the crystal in all directions.

Zelkith and Mireylon instantly turned to ice like the Dragons around and Iris was sent through the air and landed several metres away. In front of Iris stood a tall Elf, with a long grey beard and long pointed ears, yet he still looked in his fifties.

The tall Elf looked down at Zelkith, Mireylon and Morton and then at Iris. “Turn him back!” Iris yelled in fury. She stood up and ran at the tall Elf. The Elf pointed his staff at Iris, but nothing happened. She jumped into the Elf and pulled out her dagger. They slumped straight onto the icy floor with a thud and she pressed the blade against his throat.

“Turn them back now, or I’ll slice your throat!” Iris snapped. The Elf's face changed from aggressive to soft.

“NOW!” Iris yelled. He pointed his staff at Zelkith and instantly the ice disappeared and Zelkith started to move once again.

“Get his staff,” Iris commanded. Zelkith grabbed the staff with his teeth and tugged it away.

Iris then pointed at Mireylon. “Now you’re going to do the same to him.”

“Who are you?” The Elf said.

“You are in no position to be asking the questions.”

“Actually, I think you’ll find I am,” he said. He pushed himself against the blade. Iris tried to resist, but they both knew that she would not hurt him.

“Now tell me. Who are you?” the Elf insisted.

“I am Iris, What is it to you?”

“Everything.”

“Don’t try and trick us with riddles,” Zelkith said.

The tall man looked directly into Iris’s eyes. He held out his hand and the staff flew directly into his hand.

“Only someone of my bloodline is capable of reversing the spell I put myself under, but someone like
you
was the last person I expected to see,” the Elf said.

“Who were you expecting?” Zelkith said. Iris was still in a state of shock, partly from his rude behaviour.

“My daughter, Airianna Kyro, she was supposed to free me,” the Elf said. Thousands of questions ran through Iris’s head.

“You’re my Granddad?” Iris mumbled to herself.

“That is a possibility. I am Aymon Kyro. Quite obviously more time has passed than I thought, please tell me, what happened to my daughter?”

“I… I…” Iris said. She did not know how to respond. It felt like a ten-ton weight had been dropped in her stomach, the guilt that he had never known Airianna had even died and Iris had never been old enough to remember her.

“Your daughter died honourably in battle, to protect Iris and keep her safe. Her husband bound me to Iris to keep her safe before he also died. I hate to say this so suddenly, but the man who killed them both is planning a war that we have no chance of winning unless you free that man from your spell” Zelkith explained.

“Who is this man? I’ll deal with him myself!” Aymon exclaimed in anger.

“That won’t be possible, he has amassed an army that no single person could stop,” Zelkith said. Zelkith glanced over at Mireylon “That man is a strategic genius that knows the enemies and battlefields more than anyone else in our alliance. We came all this way and battled through the frozen desert at the risk of our lives just to find him, and we won’t be leaving without him!” Zelkith said. He prepared himself to attack, but Aymon raised his hand slowly.

“That won’t be necessary,” Aymon said. He pointed his wand at Mireylon and the ice disappeared from him immediately like it did Zelkith. Mireylon looked around dazed to see the Elf stood near him.

“What just happened? Who are you?” he asked.

“A friend. I hear there is a war imminent, by the sounds of it, you will need my help” Aymon replied.

“We will take all the help we can get, are you the ones who froze all these dragons?” Mireylon asked with a hint of restrained anger in his voice.

“Yes and I…”

“Then you shall release them” Mireylon interrupted. Mireylon pointed at Morton and Roseflame.

“Look, if you’re serious, I want your protection,” Aymon said when he looked at Roseflame.

“Protection? You froze almost fifty dragons in an instant and turned an entire desert into a frozen wasteland. What can we do to protect you?” Zelkith said.

“That spell was dangerous to cast and frankly, I doubt I could ever do it again. I just want you to somehow convince this Dragon not to kill me,” Aymon asked.

They agree to try. He pointed his staff at Morton and at Roseflame. The ice on them both melted straight away.

Roseflame took one look at Aymon and sent out a stream of fire towards him. Zelkith let out a magical bark which dispersed the fire around them.

“Wait!” Iris yelled at Roseflame to stop. Roseflame knocked Zelkith out of the way and used her giant talons to pin Aymon to the floor. Aymon dropped his staff and the crystal smashed against the floor.

“This vermin deserves to die for what he has done!” Roseflame yelled so loudly that it made the tower shake.

“He is the only one who can save the rest of your kin,” Zelkith shouted. Roseflame pulled back but pierced one of her talons through Aymon’s arm.

“Do you have any idea what this man has done!” Roseflame roared. She pulled her claws from Aymon’s arm and raised them high.

“I have dreamt of doing this for so many years. Die!” she screamed. Roseflame slammed down her hand and Zelkith looked away. There was no bang or noise, Roseflame had stopped just above their heads.

“Move out of the way, I’m warning you” Roseflame yelled. Iris had jumped in the way and shielded Aymon.

“I will not let you kill what little family I have left” Iris blurted in tears.

Roseflame knocked Iris out of the way and went on the attack again. Zelkith took off into the air and bit Roseflame’s hand in the air. She screamed and tried to shake him off. Zelkith jaws were clamped shut and would not let go.

Roseflame got her other hand and squashed Zelkith’s body tight. The high pitched whelp echoed through the hall and she threw him to the floor. This time, there was nothing to stop her. She slammed her hand down with immense force.

They looked to see Aymon with his other arm raised. There was a large circle shaped bridge made of ice above him. The bridge dispersed the attack into the floor around it. She spewed fire at the bridge and it had started to melt within seconds.

Iris ran to Aymon again and stood in the way. Roseflame did not try to move Iris and she slammed her tail down towards them. Iris closed her eyes, there was nothing she could do to help.

With an immense crash, the floor shuddered. Mireylon had used his incredible speed to move both Iris and Aymon.

“Why would you betray me!?” Roseflame yelled at Mireylon.

“I hate this man just as much as you! But I cannot allow you to kill Iris.”

“This is treachery, I will never forgive you for this!” she screamed. Roseflame spewed lava at the large doors and flew straight through them. The door sealed up once more, covering itself with ice.

“Mireylon, I do not know what you have heard, but…” Aymon explained.

“I do not care for your lies and excuses,” Mireylon interrupted. “Iris is the only reason you are still alive.”

“Just hear him out” Iris insisted.

“Hear him out?! This man killed almost every Dragon in existence!”

“If it weren't for me they would be” Aymon argued. The wound on his arm had nearly healed.

Mireylon’s face turned to pure fury. He clenched his wand tightly.

“I know these dragons well, Queen Arlia and King Tyrath,” Aymon said as he stood up. “Over there is Mersoth, Champion of the Skies, and there is Rhaegos, the head of the Council, and my favourite, Mia, the calm and peaceful one,” he said as he pointed out all the Dragons by name.

“What is the point you are trying to make?” Mireylon said, still angered.

“It was King Tyrath’s decision that I would freeze most of his kin, along with myself to protect the Dragons from getting caught in a war which would eventually lead to their deaths. But for it to work it had to be convincing to the outside world, so a few of the young were not told and left to fend for themselves to make it seem like I attacked the tower on my own accord” Aymon explained.

Mireylon pondered this for some time and he walked backwards and forwards with his hands on his head.

“I don’t believe you, you are full of nothing but lies and deceit!” Mireylon insisted.

“I can prove it to you, but you will not like what I suggest,” Aymon said.

“How?” Mireylon grunted.

“I can reverse the spell, but I cannot do it alone, and I will also need your help, all of you,” Aymon said.

“Explain what you mean,” Morton demanded.

Aymon told everyone about the spell that he cast on the Dragons. It was a spell that was made to force animals into hibernation to make it easier for remnant rituals. Because of the massive scale of the spell, it used more energy than Aymon had himself.

“Mireylon we are going to need your wand for this,” Aymon said. Mireylon lowered his eyebrows in suspicion. Iris gently held Mireylon’s arm and pushed it outward. Mireylon reluctantly released the grip on his hand and the wand was free for Aymon to take.

“Just hold it up so all of us can touch it,” Aymon said. Mireylon held the wand up vertically and the four of them grabbed hold.

“We get only one go at this, we cannot make a mistake,” Aymon said.

A paw was then placed on the wand “You are not the only ones who have magic in them” Zelkith added.

Aymon explained what was to happen, he would cast a spell, but it had to pass through all of them to work.

“Just don’t fight it, you will feel it take your magic but remember it is not permanent,” Aymon said in a serious tone.

They all looked at each other and Aymon nodded his head. Iris closed her eyes and she felt a power come from her heart and out of her fingertips. The wand seemed to suck the energy from her. It was the most peculiar feeling she had ever felt. She could sense the magic surge through her and leave her body.

Aymon cast his spell and a bright spark of green light flew into the air. The tower itself had started to melt and even the Dragons did. The light began to fade and the place was as cold as before. The tower that had melted froze again immediately.

“This can’t be…why would this happen,” Aymon said. He dropped to his knees and looked up into the air. “I don’t see what we did wrong, everything happened as it was supposed to…I’ve failed…” he added. There was gut wrenching disappointment evident in his voice and he put his hands over his face.

“What does this mean?” Mireylon asked.

Tears strolled down Aymon’s face and the grief was apparent on his face. He looked up to the group and said. “It means we are stuck here and your allies are doomed…”

Iris and the others pondered for hours about how they would escape Icethorpe. Aymon placed his hands on several of the Dragons and prayed his magic would work without a staff.

A loud bang echoed inside the tower. Everyone turned to see Iris with a large brick of ice in her hand stood beside a golden pedestal.

“What are you doing?!” Aymon shouted.

Iris whacked the pedestal with the ice block again. The pedestal was used by the Dragons for thousands of years and was an important relic to them.

Aymon ran over and grabbed her. She shoved him out of the way and took another swing at the pedestal. This time, a slight crack in the floor appeared.

“Help me!” Iris shouted. Aymon had got a grip of Iris’s arms and pulled her away.

Mireylon was the first to run over and grapple Aymon down to the floor with incredible speed. He did not need an excuse to attack him. Aymon overpowered Mireylon and cast a cage of ice over him.

Zelkith shouted a spell at Mireylon, which shattered the ice cage over him. Zelkith then ran over to the pedestal, sunk his teeth into the top and started to tug down with all his body weight.

Iris picked the brick up and struck the relic once more. Aymon made an ice column underneath it to stop it falling any further. Zelkith clawed at the column of ice with his massive paw and it smashed into tiny pieces.

Aymon ran and pushed Zelkith with enough force to send Zelkith across the floor. Aymon then trapped him inside a wall of ice. Aymon then ran for Iris again but stopped abruptly when Mireylon grabbed the back of Aymon’s robe and threw him down to the floor away from Iris.

With another smash from the ice brick, the pedestal was almost loose.

“Whatever you’re doing Iris, you better hurry up,” Mireylon said.

Aymon cast a wall around Mireylon and trapped him again. Iris frantically pulled down on the pedestal and with a crack, it fell to the ground below.

Iris leapt up over the fallen relic and to the ground to where the pedestal once was. She knelt down and took out a small pouch from her side.

She gently parted a tiny amount of soil and took out the cutting Mr Pannett gave her. She saw a little flower grow from around the bottom of the pedestal and knew there must be soil underneath.

“I didn’t realise you were…what is it?” Aymon asked.

“You would not have understood,” Iris said.

She pushed the cutting down into the soil and grabbed a small block of ice. She gripped the ice in her hand and water dropped onto the parted soil.

From the earth shot a plant that grew at a rapid rate. Within several minutes, it was as tall as a fully grown tree. The taller the tree became, the more warmth it radiated.

They all stood and watched as the magical tree began to melt the ice on the floors and walls. Where the melted ice flowed, bright green grass and flowers grew in its place.

They saw the bright green light from the spell they cast earlier slowly float by them. It whizzed into the tree and it exploded with growth. It crashed through the top of the tower and out of the sides. The warmth radiated into their hearts and filled their very souls with bliss. Bright green grass and beautiful flowers in every colour imaginable bloomed from every possible space.

The wooden doors to the tower fell down with a loud thud and what they saw beyond was unbelievable. As far as they could see, green meadows and tree-sized flowers bloomed into the distance. The sound of birds and insects could be heard and Iris even spotted a giant butterfly flutter past which was an array of glittered blue and red.

The Dragons of the keep also melted and started to move once more. Iris watched partly in anticipation and partly with concern. She was the one that just desecrated their prized relic and the tree she planted had made several massive holes in the tower.

First to land was the King of the Dragons, King Tyrath. He was broad, mighty and gave an aura of strength and pride. He held his head high and had two giant white horns, which stood proudly in the air against his silver, scaled body. His mighty jaws lead down to a diamond beard under his chin. His wings were large, pointed and sturdy. His tail was remarkably thick and sturdy and the tip was a hard, sharpened diamond. It was like a sword attached to his tail.

The Queen also landed and she was a contrast to Tyrath’s impressive form. Queen Arlia was a small, deep purple Dragon. She had soft, gentle rounded wings and a rather short tail. Her must stunning feature was her eyes, which were a brilliant blue and gazed deep into Iris as she looked directly at her.

“Who destroyed the Pedestal!” The King roared. He pointed at the remains of the Relic that was on the floor beside Iris.

“I…I did” Iris owned up. She hung her head low in shame.

“What is your name?” The King bellowed.

“I am Iris Kyro, Daughter of Airianna Kyro,” Iris said.

“It is considered extremely offensive to look away from a King when he speaks” The Dragon King roared.

The King extended his great claw towards Iris and the claw caught the underside of Iris’s chin. The King forced her to look up at him.

“Especially those who have bestowed us something so beautiful. I am forever in your debt, young Iris Kyro” The King said with a grin.

Next to the King stood another Dragon called Rhaegos. Rhaegos was entirely black with blunt golden spikes that ran down his spine, to the end of his tail. He had a blank but non-judgemental expression on his face. Rhaegos was the King’s Adviser in times of need.

Next to awake was Mia, the soft and gentle one. She looked up at the tree in awe with wide eyes. Now most of the other dragons had started to awaken and flew down to the King.

The last of the dragons to awaken was Mersoth, who even though he was one of the largest there, floated through the large branches and leaves of the magical tree, which spread thickly in the tower. He tucked in his wings and dived through a hoop in one of the many branches and landed on the floor beside the group.

“You always were a show-off, Mersoth,” said one of the dragons

“Well, what can I say, it’s been a few years,” he said proudly of himself. The others all chuckled.

“It’s good to see we are all still alive, although it seems this was not how things were planned.” The King said.

Rhaegos, The King’s Adviser, stood forward and looked directly at Aymon. “Now that we are all here, please tell us what has happened.”

“It has passed almost two hundred years since we were frozen. My daughter, who was supposed to free us from the spell, was murdered, by a man who is now currently planning a war against many virtuous races of the land. It is only by luck that my Granddaughter Iris, came upon this place seeking aid for the war, and freed me from the spell. I, unfortunately, cannot tell you more than that, for everything else, you must ask these people here” Aymon said.

“First I believe we should get introduced. I am King Tyrath, and this is the beautiful Queen, Arlia” The King said. The Queen bowed her head to greet them very politely. The King then proceeded to introduce the rest of his kin and he named them all one by one.

There was such a mix of different Dragons that Iris would never remember them all. They were all different sizes, some had horns, some had large teeth, different colour skins and skin textures, but they all shared the same body shape.

Aymon then prompted the others to introduce themselves. He knew as little about Iris and the others than the Dragons did.

“I am Morton Harthorpe, a Wizard of the Legion of the Silver Snake. I was banished to this place as punishment,” Morton explained.

“And may I ask why you were banished, Morton Harthorpe,” The King asked politely.

“For being loyal to the true heir of the Legion Biren Kyro. For this, I was punished.” Morton explained.

“If you are loyal to the Kyro family then you are an ally to me.” The King said. The King then glanced at Mireylon.

“I am Mireylon Pearldream, son of Dunric Pearldream.”

“Greetings Mireylon, may I ask, what brought you to this place?” The King asked.

“I came here to try and rescue Morton after he was banished” Mireylon explained.

“Very well, and you are?” King Tyrath asked. He then looked at Zelkith

“I am Zelkith, companion and Remnant to Iris,” Zelkith replied.

“Greetings to you Zelkith, again may I ask what brought you here?”

“I came here to assist Iris, for why you should ask her,” Zelkith said.

“Indeed, we should. This is the person who gave life to this tree which brings warmth and life to our lands once more, we are all indebted to her,” King Tyrath said. He looked at Iris as he talked, but he did not speak directly to her.

“Please Iris tell us why you bestowed such a thing to our lands?” he asked.

Iris was embarrassed, she had never been spoken to like that before and it was from the King of the Dragons of all people.

“I really can’t take the credit King Tyrath. That tree was given to me as a seed by a philosopher named Sir Beckton Pannett. He believed that the seed contained the life of his unborn child and that I was the one destined to give it life.”

“But why use it to save us?” The King asked.

“Shortly after meeting my Grandfather for the first time, he explained who you all were and why he was here. We tried to save you by casting some spell. The spell did not work and while I sat in the freezing cold, I noticed a small plant grow out of the bottom of that pedestal you had. My first thought was the seed that I had with me from Mr Pannett. The Tree that it came from was much like this one and it warmed the entire village and shone a brilliant sky blue. I planted the seed in the soil and the tree began to grow and melt away the ice, and the place is…well, not how it was before.”

All the Dragons listened carefully.

“A most interesting story young Iris, I’m sure we would all be keen to learn more about you. However, it seems we have a more urgent matter at hand. Please tell me of this war”.

Zelkith stepped forward to explain what he could. “I will try and describe this as briefly as possible, for time is short… Iris’s parents Biren and Airianna created the Legion of the Silver Snake after one of the largest battles this world has ever seen. Their aim was to unite all races and keep peace in the land. Airianna died in combat, Biren sacrificed his life to keep the Legion safe and also allow his brother to get closer to the enemy. We recently learned that our enemy has been under our nose the entire time. We now know that he has amassed an army of Dwarves, Yin, Seckle, Greelong, Dark Elves and Evil Men, and they number in the thousands. We have a small platoon of Gnomes, the reunited Great Wolves and hopefully the Kijiar people.”

King Tyrath pondered for some time and whispered into the Queen’s ear. The Queen whispered back and the King nodded.

“To me young wolf, it sounds like you lack forces?” The King said.

“We could use any help from those who wish peace upon this lands,” Zelkith said.

The King turned around and looked at all the other Dragons. They all nodded, one after the other.

“It would seem that evil will no doubt rise again unless action is taken! We will aid the Legion in their conquest for peace. Let it be known that evil has no place in these lands!” The King shouted.

The King turned to face the Dragons. “Let the wrath of the Dragons be known once more!” The King cried. The Dragons roared together. It was so loud that Iris’s ear continued to ring after.

“Onto my back, we must stop this war before more innocent are killed,” The King said.

“Where to?” The King asked.

“Southport is where our forces are gathered,” Zelkith said.

“Southport?” The King asked.

“Head south-west,” Zelkith said.

“Come my kin, to war!” The King yelled. He ran through the large open doors and took off in flight.

“How far is it?” King Tyrath asked.

“If we keep up this speed, less than a day” Zelkith replied.

Mireylon looked back at what used to be a frozen desert and was now a beautiful Greenland full of life. He wondered how Roseflame was and how she would react to all that had happened.

“It’s changed so much,” Aymon said to Mireylon.

“Yes, a little warmer,” Mireylon stated in a sly joke.

“Not just that, but the lands, there used to be so many villages and towns around here.”

“Do you actually have any idea the damage your spell caused?”

“Clearly I do not.”

“Your spell desecrated this entire region into a frozen wasteland. It became nothing but a blizzard night and day, its people like you who destroy and…”

“Mireylon, that’s enough,” Zelkith interrupted.

“I’m sorry,” Mireylon apologised to Aymon.

“Don’t be, please tell me what you know, I must know the damage I have caused to try and do my best to repair it.”

Mireylon explained all that he knew about the lands and the battles between the dragons. He also told of Roseflame’s life that he knew of and what she believed happened.