Amulet of Souls (The Sentinels of Wizgrad Book 1) (4 page)

"You don't have to follow the rules word for word! She can still serve a purpose to us!" Mireylon argued.

"My mind is made up, it will be swift and painless, we have already sent her to the cave outside of here and you cannot stop this," Dartis said with an arrogant smirk on his face.

"You dirty snake!" Mireylon yelled. He slammed his hand onto the table.

"Do not report back to me until your task is finished," Dartis said and he walked out of the library.Mireylon sat for a few moments alone.

"You will pay for this, traitor!" He uttered under his breath and looked in the direction of where Iris and Zelkith were hidden. He then stood up and stormed out of the room.

"Phew...That was close" Iris gasped a sigh of relief.

"We've got to get out of here," Zelkith said, but even he knew it was a stupid idea. All the exits were guarded and no one would let them leave on their own.

They left the library shortly afterwards and tried to find any exit that might be less guarded. They went down several hallways and sets of staircases and found nowhere they could escape at all. They both realised they were trapped here.

"Ah Iris, Zelkith-What good timing!" came a voice, it was Mireylon who was behind them. "What are you even doing here anyway?" Mireylon questioned.

"Erm, we were just…err…looking around" Iris said.

"No matter. The King has given...us an important task and we must leave immediately" explained Mireylon.

Mireylon made them follow him into the armoury where Thorna had previously taken them before. He closed the door behind them and walked up to a stone wall at the far end of the room. He brushed his hands along the walls and after a few seconds, he pushed one of the stones into the wall and a series of clunks came from under the room. He then walked over to the other side of the room and got down on his hands and knees and felt around on the floor for something else.

He stopped at the weapon rack beside Iris and tapped on the floor beneath. He lifted open a trap door which led down into the ground.

"This way and quiet" Mireylon whispered.

They quietly crept through a small dark tunnel and after a short while they reached the other end, a set of stairs led up to another trap door. They climbed up the stairs and into a pitch-black room. Mireylon lit up the room with a wand he had in his hand. He had led them into a completely sealed stone room.

"Hold this," Mireylon said and he gave the wand to Iris.

Iris noticed Zelkith sniff the air.

"What is it, Zell?"

"Do you not smell it?" he responded.

"Smell what?" Iris replied.

It's like…blood.." Zelkith said concerned.

"Oh no!" Mireylon panicked. He ran to the furthest wall and pressed his hands against it. “Ostendo!" he shouted. The stone wall started to turn into wood from around his hands. It soon spread until it eventually turned into a large studded wooden door. He grabbed back his wand and pushed open the door without hesitation. A flood of sunlight rushed into the dark room and was accompanied by the foul smell of rotten flesh.

Once their eyes had adjusted to the light, it was a grim sight to see. Directly outside were two men, their armour badly damaged. Both the men had a deep cut along their throats and had been left out to burn in the sun.

"How could this happen?!" Mireylon screamed in anger. He ran over to another stone wall and held his palms up to the wall again.

"Please be safe," he said and he cast the same spell as before to reveal another door. He pushed the door open slowly and stood back. Inside stood a golden-haired horse. It walked over to Mireylon and lowered its head.

"Thank God you're safe," Mireylon said. "Iris, Zelkith, We must mo…" Mireylon began to speak but when he turned they had vanished. "Iris! Zelkith!" He yelled. He ran out of the stables and looked around in the distance. There was nothing to be seen but the empty wilderness and the nearby forest.

"Dammit!" Mireylon shouted and stamped his foot.

"That was close," Iris said. Iris and Zelkith had managed to escape while Mireylon was distracted. Iris had jumped onto Zelkith’s back and they ran into the nearby forest.

"Did you see how quickly he cast that spell?" Iris said. It was rare to see any Witch or Wizard who could cast a spell without the aid of any wand at all, and it was usually the more powerful ones.

"Yes…and that worries me, we shouldn't tarry for long," Zelkith said. They found a stream of fresh water and they drank before they made their way downstream. They followed the river downstream for a while longer but it began to get dark and their legs started to ache and their stomachs rumbled.

"We should find somewhere to rest," Zelkith said. They continued to walk along in the dark.

“There is a cave up there," Zelkith said and he led them up the mountainside to the cavern.

"I can't see a thing in here," Iris said. Iris used her outstretched arms to try and feel what was around her but stumbled on the uneven ground.

She then spotted something that gleamed in the darkness. It was a small golden flicker of light that caught her eye. Further down in the cave was a small white mushroom that glowed in the darkness. When Iris approached, she could see the little flicker of gold get closer.

“Something doesn't smell right," Zelkith said.

Iris crouched down and picked up a strange amulet. She looked at it curiously under the light of the mushroom. Hung on a plain chain was an eight-sided pale white quartz amulet; it was almost ghostly and shimmered strangely in the light. There was a silver band around it and a small hoop for the chain to go through at the top. She lifted it above her head and attempted to undo the clasp to put it around her neck.

"NO!" shouted a woman's voice from within the cave but it was too late, Iris had already clasped the chain around her.

"She's in here!" said a loud male voice from outside.

"Who's in here with us?" Zelkith demanded.

"It's Thorna, why have you two…we have trouble coming," Thorna said.

A small group of men ran inside the cave, their torches illuminated the cavern. Iris hastily took the amulet off, stuffed it into her cleavage and pulled out her swords.

At the cave entrance, a golden-haired horse stopped and then galloped off. It was Mireylon's horse; he had led a group of ruffians to do his dirty work for him. The group of ruffians surrounded them and blocked off the exit. Zelkith snarled and showed his razor sharp teeth, Iris had her swords ready.

"Look what we have here boys," said a large man much taller than the others.

"A little pair of Elf girls, and a great wolf of all things," the tall man said.

"STAND BACK!" Iris shouted. She pointed her swords towards him. The large man just laughed arrogantly.

"Try your best, little Elf" he taunted her and he stepped closer. Iris pointed her sword at him shakily. He launched forward and raised his voice to taunt Iris who made her jump and her hands shook. The other ruffians started to laugh also.

"Let's get this over with" the man said arrogantly. He reached behind him to grab a sword on his back. Zelkith leapt forward and plunged his fangs deep into the man's arm. With a scream of pain, the man grabbed his sword in his other arm and swung it toward Zelkith.

Zelkith, who was just as tall as him while on his hind legs, threw the man down to the floor with ease. "My arm!" Yelled the large man who grabbed the wound on his arm "You'll pay for this!"

"Touch her again and it will be your throat I go for next time, Human!" Zelkith barked. The faces of the ruffians changed from a sniggered smile into fear, yet the face of the large man seemed to smile as he held back laughter. The cave then began to shake and rumble as if an earthquake had started.

The tall man stood up and took his hand away from the wound on his arm which had healed completely. Above him, an enormous lizard-like eye appeared within the darkness. Was this some kind of spell? The eye looked around and seemed to focus on Iris, but it did not want her, instead it tried to locate the amulet.

The outline of a Dragon's face appeared out of the darkness of the cave. The ruffians turned and the torches they held exposed the outline of a Dragon.

"Dragon! Run!" yelled one of the men. The group of ruffians scrambled and panicked to escape. One man who seemed much quicker than the others got ahead of the group, until a root shot up from the ground and grabbed his ankle which made him fall to the ground.

"You're not getting away" Thorna shouted.

The Dragon wrapped its tail around the exit and blocked the way out. The Dragon took in a deep breath and with a bellow of heat let out a stream of fire, which engulfed the entire cave.

Iris, Zelkith and Thorna, who were all stood next to each other, could feel the intense heat burn across them, but somehow they were not in the flames. Iris opened her eyes to see an Elf in front of them who held up a shield. It was too difficult for Iris to see who it was. The flames deflected around the shield and protected them. After the flames had stopped, most of the cavern was a bright red glow.

The Elf stood up and charged towards the Dragon. He leapt over the pathway of smouldered bodies on the floor. The Dragon launched its claws towards the Elf, who dodged with ease. As the Elf got closer, his speed seemed to increase to such an extent that Iris could hardly keep up with his movements. The Elf leapt up onto the Dragon's nose and placed both hands down on its head. He uttered some strange words and the Dragon seemed to calm instantly. The Dragon's eyes changed from dark red to a pale green.

"Is that who I think it is?" Zelkith said to Iris. The Elf made its way toward Iris and the others.

"Mireylon?!" Iris said, partly in shock, partly in worry.

"I'm sorry to have scared you both, but why on Wizgrad did you run away?" he asked.

"Well. Erm…because…" Iris stuttered.

"Yes?" Mireylon replied.

"We know about your plan to kill us," Zelkith said.

"Kill you?" Mireylon said confused.

"We heard you talk to Dartis in the library, about planning to kill me for taking those two objects" Iris blurted out.

Mireylon looked at Iris and started to chuckle.

"It was a cover-up mission to sneak you out of the stronghold, I have a lead on Efrundle". Mireylon explained, "I am curious, though, as to what two items you thought we believed you had taken" Mireylon pondered.

"I gave her the phantom handles," Thorna confessed.

"I kept them hidden, but I thought you knew somehow," Iris said.

"You were right in keeping them hidden, and I bid you do the same to that amulet as well," Mireylon said.

"So she really is the next heir," said a loud but gentle feminine voice, it had come from the Dragon.

"The Dragon…It…Talks?" Iris said in shock.

"In the same way that Zelkith does my dear, I am sorry for almost killing you" the Dragon responded in a sincere tone.

"So, she is your remnant?" Zelkith asked Mireylon.

"Yes, Rose has been my remnant for many decades," Mireylon said.

"We should tell Dartis about this," Thorna said.

"NO!" Mireylon shouted which made Thorna and Rose look at him in shock.

"You can't go back Thorna" Mireylon sighed.

"Why, is there something wrong with me?" Thorna said innocently.

"Just trust me, I think you should stay away from the stronghold. Stay with Rose for now" Mireylon suggested. Iris noticed Zelkith sniff around in the air again.

"What is it?" Iris asked.

"Something doesn't smell right, someone else is in here," Zelkith said with concern.

"There's no one else here Zell, the entire place was torched," Iris said.

"The little Elf is weak and stupid!" said a voice from behind her.

Iris's heart sank, she turned to see the tall man from earlier completely unharmed and stood behind Thorna with a sword in hand, raised ready. The tall man grabbed the sword tight and thrust it straight toward Thorna.

"Look out!" Iris yelled.

Thorna turned to looked straight at him and the sword plunged straight into her chest. “Thorna No!” Mireylon screamed and he ran towards her.

Mireylon grabbed his sword and swung it towards the tall man. The tall man pushed Thorna at Mireylon and pulled out the blade as he did. Mireylon stopped to catch her.

The tall man's skin had wrinkled beyond belief and his hair turned to a wispy white. The wrinkled man ran towards them, Zelkith jumped up at him, but he ducked out of the way and threw Zelkith violently against the wall. He then made a dash for the exit but Rose swung her tail at him. He dodged her tail and escaped out of the cave with a snigger of laughter.

Very soon the anger of his escape was replaced with the despair of the current situation. “Oh Thorna” Mireylon wept as he hesitantly examined the wound on her chest.

“My sister, always loved you” Thorna coughed. She painfully lifted her arm to touch Mireylon’s face. Tears streamed down his face and he laid his head on her and sobbed.

“Can’t we…” Iris started to say when Rose placed one of her giant talons gently across Iris’s chest and shook her head.

“She has lost too much blood, she would never make it,” Zelkith said.

“Iris, come…here” Thorna said out of breath and in pain.

Iris quickly dashed to her side and kneeled.

“You have true power in you, you must find it in yourself. The power is not in your mind but it’s…” Thorna struggled to get out the words. Her breathing stopped and she fell silent.

“Thorna? Thorna?!” Mireylon cried as he shook her shoulders. “Wake up! This can’t be happening!”

“That’s enough Mireylon!” Rose said in a firm tone. Mireylon laid her down gently and rubbed his hands across her cheeks, tears still streamed down his face. He could not control his feelings which switched from sorrow to anger.

After several hours, Mireylon’s emotions had calmed. He told Rose of an area to check for Efrundle and to find what information she could. Mireylon picked up Thorna’s body and walked it outside the cave. He laid her down on the ground near a large white barked tree.

“We will meet again soon,” Mireylon said. He closed her eyes with his hands and then placed his hands on the soil nearby. The ground started to rumble gently around them. The roots of the tree came alive and wrapped themselves around Thorna’s body. The roots went into the ground and Thorna’s body was gone.

“What’s happening to her?” Iris asked.

“Wood Elves live among the nature of Aceon and when we die our life goes back to nature, to be reborn again in a new life” Mireylon explained.

“Will I die like that?…” Iris enquired.

“I’m sorry but I don’t know…We must go back, they will be expecting me soon,” Mireylon said.

“So just how did you get a Dragon as a remnant?” Zelkith asked curiously. Mireylon was happy to explain his past; it took his mind off Thorna’s death.

It was just over a hundred years ago when Mireylon first applied for the legion, but in his Joining, something went wrong. Biren had told him that he was to bind his soul with Rubicon, an ancient Dragon, who had been mostly forgotten and then return to the Legion to re-join.

He spent several years searching the texts and manuscripts of the legion’s massive library for as much information about binding souls, the history of dragons and even learnt the Dragon’s language.

On one particular parchment, he found some information, which was buried deep in the back of the library. The Dragon Rubicon was the defender of the amulet that the Legion swore to protect. Mireylon knew that the amulet still existed and it was somewhere not even the Legion could get to.

Mireylon set out determined to find Rubicon and intended to somehow bind his soul to it. He searched all over mountainous regions of Aceon for almost fifty years and probed various libraries for information. One day, he stumbled upon a rather strange looking little box, located inside a dormant volcano.

Out of curiosity, Mireylon approached the box and slid off the lid, which revealed a silver chain inside, with a strange looking amulet hooked onto it. He picked up the chain and with a jeer he quickly threw it back into the box. The chain had burnt the skin on his hand. He placed the lid back on the box and hesitantly picked up the box.

Mireylon turned his head to see a giant eye that stared at him not ten feet away. In shock, he stepped backwards, stumbled down onto the floor and dropped the box. He cushioned the fall with his hands but soon realised he was surrounded by piles of bones and corpses.

He looked up to see a huge dark red Dragon stood in front of him. The Dragon lifted up his head and took in a deep breath. Mireylon picked up a shield from a pile of bones next to him and used it to cover himself, just in time. The Dragon screeched a jet of flame which hit Mireylon’s shield with such force that it knocked him over onto his back.

Mireylon chucked the smouldering shield aside and saw two distinctive horns on the Dragon’s shoulder. He could not believe his eyes; he had finally found the Dragon he had been searching for…Rubicon.

Mireylon and Rubicon battled, but he had not prepared for a battle ready Dragon with thousands of year’s experience.

The Dragon soon knew that Mireylon was exhausted, he moved and dodged slowly. The Dragon launched itself towards him and used its talons to knock Mireylon’s sword and shield from his hands and trap him beneath its foot.

The Dragon opened its mouth, ready to devour him. Mireylon yelled out in the Dragon’s native tongue. The Dragon stopped inches from his face.

“I do not remember the last time I have spoken in my language,” said the Dragon.

“I can understand you” Mireylon responded.

“What magical trickery is this? Why are you here?!” the Dragon yelled.

“I am here because I have been searching for you, Rubicon” Mireylon explained.

The Dragon pushed Mireylon hard against the jagged rocks below him. “DON’T LIE TO ME!” the Dragon yelled with such force it shook the ground beneath them.

“You fools and your contemptuous armies come to kill me just to get more power. Yet a single Elf who speaks my tongue taunts my mind with trickery to take what is not his” the Dragon continued.

“It is not by greed I come here, nor is it to hurt you. I am here for the same reason as you” Mireylon said.

“And what would that be?” the Dragon questioned.

“To protect this world from the same evil you do” he replied.

“Bwahahaha! What could you possibly know about protecting this world from evil?! You continue to mock me with your arrogance! You really think that you could protect it better than I?” the Dragon yelled. She pushed Mireylon back further into the rocks and started to crush his body.

“I have spoken enough to you,” the Dragon said when a bolt of energy suddenly hit the rocks in between the two of them. They both turned to see a lone man in a long hooded cloak, with a black staff in hand. “Rubicon, it is time for you to be vanquished so I can take back what is rightfully mine” shouted the man.

This angered Rubicon even more and she stood up high and released Mireylon from her grip. She tilted back her head and spewed a fountain of lava towards the hooded man. The lava streamed down upon him but appeared to hit a barrier that protected him.

Before the lava had stopped, Rubicon launched herself off into the air and straight towards the man stood on top of the Volcano. She slashed her claws and hit the man’s barrier and destroyed it. The impact knocked him down and part of the lava scalded his face.

The man yelped in pain and pulled up his hood. He swung his staff toward Rubicon. A black ball of energy came out of the staff throwing her across the volcano, which penetrated her lower wing. The battle between the two of them was short but very violent, it was on a whole different scale to what Mireylon could have ever imagined.

Whoever this cloaked man was, he was extremely powerful and seemed to have severely injured Rubicon. The cloaked man stood up tall and raised his chin high. “This is your end, Rubicon!” he yelled. He lifted his staff and shot another black ball of energy and this time, it was bigger.

Rubicon was wounded and in a vulnerable position against the rocks, which meant she could not defend herself. Mireylon ran towards Rubicon, picked up a shield on the way and stood in front of her. The black energy ball struck Mireylon and went straight through him. In the agony, Mireylon fell to the ground and clutched his shoulder.

“You fool! How dare you get in my way!” the cloaked man yelled, who then shot continuous black energy balls. The spells were deflected by a piece of armour which Mireylon held up in front of him.

“Rubicon Go! Take the amulet and go!” Mireylon yelled.  He tried his best to deflect the barrage of spells that was launched towards them. Rubicon did not respond but appeared mesmerised.

“What are you doing? Go!” Mireylon insisted. He felt something peculiar drip onto his wounded shoulder. He looked up to see that it had fallen from Rubicon herself. In the same way, that a Phoenix tear is said to heal wounds, a Dragon tear would do the same and Mireylon’s shoulder healed quickly.

The Dragon watched Mireylon, who would sacrifice his life, to save a creature that would devour him without a second thought. She cast her mind back to their previous battle and suddenly realised that Mireylon had not harmed her the entire time.

“Please… Go, I don’t think I can hold on for much longer” Mireylon pleaded. His arms had begun to give way from the constant spells.

“Why would someone so young throw away his life for me? One who is weak” the Dragon questioned.

“Because you protect something that is more valuable than our lives,” he answered.

The Dragon’s face changed from sad, to angry, but had a purpose. She tilted her head back and spewed more lava at the cloaked wizard. The wizard stopped the barrage of spells. She glanced her eyes down at the box, and Mireylon automatically knew what she meant.

Mireylon grabbed the box tightly in his hands, and with a swift pull on his stomach, Rubicon had clutched Mireylon in her talons and had taken off in flight.

After a short while, they landed somewhere safe, far away from the volcano. Mireylon explained to Rubicon that Biren had told him to bind souls with her before he could finish the Joining. Once they had rested, they went back to the Legion stronghold, where Morton and five other wizards performed a remnant ritual and bound their souls together.

Mireylon went back to finish the Joining ritual, and this time, it went as expected. Mireylon and Rubicon trained to become stronger protectors and to pass on their knowledge to Iris.  Over time, Rubicon became known as Roseflame.

“So…you never intended to kill us then?” Iris asked innocently.

“I would never harm you,” Mireylon said with a smile, “but we should head back to the stronghold, ‘
they
’ will soon find out about you”.

“They?” Zelkith asked.

“We know little about them, only that they plan to get the amulet for their own use,” Mireylon explained.

Something made the floor rumble violently and a few seconds after it was followed by a loud thunderous noise. It was not long until it occurred again.

“What on Wizgrad is going on?” Zelkith said.

“That’s coming from the stronghold,” Mireylon said worriedly. The three of them rushed towards the stronghold to try and find out what caused the noises. Mireylon was concerned that ‘
they
’ had finally decided to attack and of all the times it was when he was not there.

The quakes became more frequent as they got closer but were not as strong as before. They ran straight to the side entrance, but it was untouched from when they left.

Mireylon opened up the hidden door and they crept back through to the armoury. When they got inside, they noticed most of the weapons had gone.

“This is bad, real bad” Mireylon said. He took a staff from the nearby weapon rack and cautiously opened up the door to the hallway, only to see an empty hallway.

“This way,” Zelkith said. He could hear a battle and carefully led them towards it. They made their way down several corridors and sets of stairs and soon Iris and Mireylon heard the sound of battle.

They headed down the Elven quarters and eventually arrived at the large grassy area where Iris was trained by Thorna, which had now become a huge battlefield. They carefully approached the entrance, where a line of Yin, Seckle, Humans, Ogres and Greelong fought.

Mireylon held his hand out to indicate that Iris and Zelkith should stay back and he walked a little closer.

“Commander Zsylar!” Mireylon yelled, with a hint of worry in his voice and with good reason. The Seckle gazed at Mireylon through his lizard-like eyes. Many others turned around and started to charge straight toward them without question.

Iris got her weapons ready but Mireylon launched a shot of bright white magic, which hit the ceiling above and collapsed the rocks and roof above to block their way.

“This is worse than I thought, quickly we must hurry,” Mireylon said. He ran back toward the Elven quarters and entered his dormitory. He hastily grabbed some items, slung them into a small sack and threw it over his back. They ran outside and back into the Elven quarters. Mireylon then stopped in the middle of the hallway and stood to face the wall.