Knights of the Wizard (of Knights and Wizards Book 2) (2 page)

KING DARIUS WAS TALKING TO STONE in the courtyard when the sun was suddenly blocked; he looked up into the sky and the sight was unbelievable. A grey dragon was circling around and everyone commenced to run, the largest of all dragons and the meanest too. It was a huge beast and it began to spew multiple balls of fire; people were running and screaming before catching fire and turning to ash, nothing quite as terrible as a death scream. There was no holding back with a death cry, everything was put into it.

Archers started to launch their arrows from the castle wall, many striking the monster but with no effect. Some arrows stuck while others simply bounced off. The dragon turned and pumped its mighty wings, the sound of it cutting through was terrifying, looking as though it was deliberately going to hit the castle. And hit the castle it did, causing it to come apart as if it was a bunch of rocks piled upon one another with no mortar to hold them together, crushing some people and burying others under the rubble. And then more horrible screams of people dying assaulting the king’s ears.

The dragon landed in the courtyard with a mighty thump, shaking the ground and knocking the king off his feet. Stone attacked, sinking his sword into its side between the dragon’s scales but he was promptly bitten in two, Darius screamed at the sight of it. He loved Stone like a son.

Adorok materialized out of thin air. “Darius run for cover!” He launched a poison spell at the dragon, but it had no effect.

“Darius, wake up!” Adorok shouted.

The dragon launched a ball of the reddest fire directly at the king; its heat was terrible as his skin commenced to burn, readying to release his own scream of death.

“Wake up!”

The king sat up in bed, his heart was racing and he was perspiring profusely. Thank goodness it had only been a dream.

FATE HAD AS MANY TWISTS AND TURNS as there were people. Every single time a person took a different path than they typically would it changed things, and not always for the better. Destiny had things up its sleeve, nasty things. It had been over two years since the Yurrosy had been altered, transformed into crows by Ash the baby dragon wizard, and people now felt safe. But there was a danger that was lurking on the horizon, dark clouds were brewing. Unseen forces were moving forward, unknown wizards were hard at work.

Struggle shaped people like chisel shaped granite, transforming some but breaking others into pieces of their former selves. The tough and the resilient had always managed to flow with life’s carnage and probably always would. But gentler souls always suffered the most, unable to comprehend life’s harsh realities, always hoping for a better world that never seemed to come. Greedy Kings wanting more than their fair share was the cause of a lot of it. Children were always the most vulnerable, not able to understand why some could be so cruel, their little hands hopeless to fight back.

Marcus had taken over Adorok’s chamber in the castle after his passing, after having been on an adventure that transformed him into a wizard, now complicating every single day. Being a wizard was not the smooth path that he thought it would have been, not that he would have ever believed that he would have become one. Magic appeared to be as complex as the inside of a dragon. When he closed his eyes at night an improper gesture with his hand could blow a hole in the castle wall, a sneeze had knocked down both Stone and his horse. One could laugh afterwards, but it was as scary as hell when it was happening.

Marcus had had no aspirations to be a wizard even though he had imagined it a few times because of Adorok. Some of
his
spells had been incredible, but that small glowing glass ball had changed everything, transforming the boy. He couldn’t guess how powerful he was, but he knew that some people were now frightened of him, scared that he would accidentally cast a spell that was either irreversible or that would kill them outright. He didn’t have the option of not practising his magic because it leaked out of him like water out of an old bucket.

Marcus knew that being an accomplished wizard might take a lifetime of learning, but his impatience was already getting the best of him. He wanted instant success, but already a year had passed and he didn’t think he had learned much of anything. None of Adorok’s spells had worked for him and so he had experimented with adding extra ingredients to spells with disastrous results, transforming one of the king’s guards into a goose for several weeks and almost getting him eaten when he escaped his chamber. He had also turned his father the king into a chicken for nearly a week, confirming to a lot of people that the boy was just too dangerous to have around. What was the point of having such magical ability if one couldn’t use it to one’s advantage? Marcus had tried hard to turn rocks into gold, transforming them into feathers instead, having launched himself more than a dozen feet in the air from the explosion. He was sure that he had followed that enchantment to the letter and yet it had been a resounding failure. What the hell was he doing so wrong?

The boy blinked his blue eyes as he combed his shoulder length hair, finding a knot he pulled out a chunk; his face was young and handsome although now he had a cut over his left eyebrow and a scar on his ear from a spells gone awry. Outside the sun was just above the horizon although currently hidden behind a single cloud. The morning was new and fresh but his problems were of the old variety, how to properly cast a spell without blowing himself up. There were ingredients in the proper amounts to consider, correct pronunciation of words to be spoken and his wizard’s blood to be cast into the mix of some spells. It was nothing short of a nightmare. And for almost a week he had decided that he wasn’t going to be a wizard anymore, that he was simply going to ignore his abilities. But he sneezed in his sleep and knocked two of the crenellations off the top of the castle, killing one of the king’s best horses, a beautiful black destrier named Abizad. The horse never knew what hit him and Marcus had cried for days. He knew he had to get control of his abilities before he killed someone, but it was easier said than accomplished.

Adorok’s chamber had been changed around a bit and Marcus now had a beautiful painting over the doorway of himself sitting on Ryxa’s back as they flew over Leeander; down below the Yurrosy were in the process of being transformed into crows. Some of them half crow and half man. He had them install several more sconces for extra lighting and a beautiful tapestry of a meadow where a dragon lay beneath an apple tree. The red apples on the tree were so bright that he liked staring at them. He had his father commission another painting of him and Adorok standing near Ryxa by the river, even though that scene had never happened he liked to imagine that it had been real.

“How did Adorok make these spells work?” He stood motionless for a time thinking on it. He couldn’t give up and yet he didn’t feel like moving forward either, continuing to try hard with nothing to show for it.

Marcus missed the carefree days of simply being a boy. Now he was the kingdom’s only wizard and he felt the pressure of it, especially since his dreams were showing him an epic battle that appeared so real that it left him shaking when he awoke. People liked to glorify war after it was all over, but there was nothing glorious about it. Being a wizard had transformed even his dreams; they were so colorful and seemingly real and not conducive to a good night’s sleep. Always trying to show him something or other that he mostly couldn’t grasp, cryptic meanings Lance called them.

At night Marcus liked to sit in front of the elaborate fireplace where different scenes of a wizard casting spells were chiseled into its face, inlaid with precious metals. The knights and the wizards were displayed in silver and the sun and dragons in gold. He sat and pondered on things that Adorok might have contemplated on, watching the fire crackling into the night, trying hard to be more mature than his age allowed. Once he saw a dragon in the fire that was eating people and stomping others, making him wonder if he wasn’t losing his grasp on reality. In general dragons avoided people preferring to only associate with their own kind, and the fact that Marcus had befriended a black dragon named Ryxa still amazed just about everyone. Even his time with Ryxa had been diminished because of this stupid wizard thing.

“Well that’s it then,” Marcus said as he placed the last ingredient, a drop of dragon blood into the silver bowl and spoke the words, “I infuse thee dacijiasas!” An explosion blew him right off his feet throwing him hard against the castle wall and knocking him unconscious for almost a minute. In fact, the blast had shaken the entire castle, spooked horses for miles and made a lot of people extremely nervous, even commencing to affect the cows and their production of milk. King Darius was receiving a myriad of complaints concerning his son. Marcus coughed and black smoke was emitted from his lungs, tasting a lot like coal dust, making a funny noise as he dry retched several times, an unpleasant sensation.

“That can’t be right,” he said to himself as he staggered around seeing spots before his eyes, having to sit down before he fell over. It was one thing to have the power of a wizard and another to know how to properly cast a spell. Adorok had had age, wisdom, experience and patience behind him, but Marcus had none of those things. Although Adorok’s mind had slipped during his last year, the boy thought that he was probably more adept than him even then, how sad was that. Marcus would never be able to stand up to his legend, might even go down in the history books as the worst wizard ever with a drawing of a jackass next to his likeness.

This wizard business was starting to get downright depressing; instead of being admired he was being ridiculed. Now there was a rumor that his father was bringing in someone to test him and he definitely didn’t need proof that he was an incompetent sorcerer. Maybe he would actually bring in someone that would take away his powers, if such a thing were possible. That would probably be for the best.

Adorok’s ghost appeared and smiled at the boy, materializing from inside the wall taking several steps forward. “I tried hard to stop you from doing that Marcus, but being no longer amongst the living it 's hard to make my presence known. Never add dragon’s blood to a sulphur compound.”

“Now you tell me. It is so hard to decipher your spells; some of your writing is like chicken scratches. Looked like dragon’s blood to me.”

Adorok looked into the boy’s blue eyes and smiled. “Might have been dragon flower. What spell were you trying to cast?”

He wasn’t sure that he would ever get accustomed to talking to a ghost. “A protection spell to keep people out of this chamber. I hate it when they move my things around, especially when Alexa comes in here.” Marcus’s always had a love-hate relationship with his big sister, especially when Alexa picked on him, which was often. She was as good a bully as any big brother would have been, at least he thought so. She wasn’t after him nearly as much since she gave birth to Abbey. Alexa might be the only one that wasn’t frightened of him.

“A simple but effective one exists at the bottom of that drawer.” Adorok pointed as he faded out and then back in.

Alexa entered the chamber and had to laugh at Marcus’s blackened face. “Marcus, what on earth are you doing? Are you trying to destroy the entire kingdom? You knocked Stone off his horse again.”

Marcus didn’t want to show his sister how inferior he was at being a wizard, but his blackened face made it difficult, besides it’s not like it was a secret. “I ah, I guess I need practice.” Marcus was still a bit dizzy as he staggered and sat down to recover from the blast. He would so love to wipe that look off his sister’s face; it seemed that all she did was laugh and make fun. She was now a mother so wasn’t it time that she grew up?

Alexa again laughed at Marcus. “That’s an understatement. You’re no Adorok.” And when she saw Adorok’s ghost she gasped but was also happy to see him, having heard rumors that he was appearing to Marcus but hadn’t really believed it. Now that she realized it was true it also made her a little jealous. “Adorok, it is so nice to see you! What’s it like to be dead?”

Adorok blinked several times. “Certain things I can’t talk about my dear. You’ll see when your time comes.”

“Why don’t you take her with you,” said Marcus. “Look at her I think she’s ready to go.”

Alexa gave Marcus a nasty look. “Not funny Marcus. Adorok, I’m a knight now.”

The boy shook his head. “Some knight. A knight in rusty armour. More like a tailor than a knight I think. But really Adorok I think she is ready to go. You’d be doing me an enormous favor if you take her with you.”

Alexa gave Marcus a kick knocking him off his chair. “Adorok, why do you only appear to Marcus? I’d like to see you too.”

Adorok blinked several times. “I have unfinished business with Marcus and you’d do well to show him more respect. There may come a time when you need his protection.”

Marcus wiped the dust off his sore butt. “Yeah, respect and he likes me better than you that’s why. I’m going to get Adorok to show me a spell that will turn you into a turkey.”

Alexa walked around checking on what her little brother had done to Adorok’s chamber. “He doesn’t like you better. He’s just trying to help you get a handle on this wizard thing before you kill us all. He’s killed father’s horse you know.”

“Yes I know, Abizad is here with me now.” They both heard the sound of the horse neighing from the other side.

Marcus directed his hands toward Alexa, making threatening circles and gestures. “That’s it, I’ll turn you into a mouse, no a rat!”

Alexa stood akimbo looking directly into his eyes. “Marcus, don’t you dare try your magic on me! You’re incompetent and you know it, who the hell knows what would happen.”

Marcus chased her out of the chamber and down the hall. When she stopped he actually tried to spell her, but all he managed was to form another eagle which took flight and headed out the far window that he had just blown out. Realizing that Marcus had actually tried to spell her, she chased after him and caught him as he ran back into the chamber, pushing him up against the wall and partially out the window. She held on tight, but it was still a dangerous thing to do.

“There’s nothing worse than a stupid wizard. What if you had turned me into a frog or something and then couldn’t turn me back!”

Marcus smiled and nodded at the thought. “Then Stone would be kissing a frog, an improvement I think,” said Marcus. “Stop it you’ll drop me! You idiot!”

The sound of large wings beating filled the air as Ryxa hovered outside the window, ducking and cocking her head so that she could see inside. “Alexa stop that.”

Alexa wasn’t at all happy to see the black dragon. “Not you again? Ryxa, why is it that every time I’m trying to teach Marcus a lesson you show up?”

“Just lucky I guess,” said Ryxa. She adjusted her position so that her head was pointed toward the window and her body away from it.

Marcus managed to break free of his sister’s hold and jumped out the window onto the dragon’s head, sliding down onto her back. “Alexa, if only you could fly but you can’t. And just wait ‘till I figure out my spells I think I will turn you into a frog and feed you flies.”

Alexa picked up a small metal cup and bounced it off of Marcus’s head and then she watched as the black dragon flew off with him. “That pest is gonna be the end of all of us. A wizard he isn’t.” And then she imagined Marcus feeding her flies, perhaps she should be nicer to him. What if he did eventually figure out how to be a proper wizard?