Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (24 page)

“Vartan, the assassins are likely still out
there and probably waiting to ambush us. Is there anyone else with
you?”

“Nymira?” asked Vartan, as the Dragon Queen
slowly shifted her scales back to show herself.

Leon stared at her in surprise and then
immediately bowed down to greet his queen.

“My goodness, get off the ground, you silly
fool, and prepare yourself for battle!”

“Yes, my Queen,” replied Leon, abruptly
returning to his feet as his face reddened.

A panicked scream escaped the fields outside,
and was quickly muffled.

“Oh no – that was Tusdar!” growled
Vartan.

Vartan and Leon stealthily approached the
farmhouse windows, peering out to see if they could locate Tusdar.
Nymira pulled her head out from the doorway and looked around to
scan the many fields around them.

Standing in a circle around them were at
least two dozen vampire assassins, leering in the moonlight, their
black clothes flapping in the wind. One of them wore red jewels on
a gold necklace and stood closest to the house with Tusdar held in
a tight armlock, a sharp silver dagger held to his neck. Its tip
pierced Tusdar’s skin and drew tiny droplets of blood.

Take down their leader first, and the rest
will crumble,
thought Vartan as they stepped out of the
farmhouse, studying the positions of the awaiting vampires.

A growling voice echoed into the night. “I am
Arane, and I command the entire vampire army. I will make this
simple for you. Lay down your weapons and hand over your dragon to
our control and none of you have to die.”

“Commander of the vampire army, you say?”
said Vartan. “Aren’t you under Shindar’s command? And I would
hardly call this little gathering an army. The dragon – not
my
dragon – is free from capture and does not bend to
anyone’s will. As for letting us all live, I would love to believe
you, but history has shown that vampires are not to be
trusted.”

Vartan's body twisted as he snapped out his
arm, releasing a small dagger, and formed the shape of a claw with
his other hand. He cast a spell under his breath, “
Impendo quod
queritor.
”

The dagger split open in mid-air,
transforming into four razor-sharp steel claws that mimicked his
own fingers, and embedded themselves around Arane’s pale neck.

Vartan grinned as he shouted. “Let Tusdar go,
or I’ll close my fist and turn you into dust to fertilise the
plants."

Arane snickered as he narrowed his eyes. “You
stupid fool! This isn’t a fable and we don’t negotiate! You had
your chance, and I will not give you the courtesy of another." He
slid his blade across Tusdar’s neck and dropped his body to the
cold ground. Tusdar clutched at his open flesh as he choked loudly
on his own steaming hot blood.

“No! Tusdar! Arane, you son of a bitch!”
growled Vartan.

He closed his fist tightly and his enchanted
weapon cut through Arane’s neck. The vampire’s body disintegrated
into dust.. Vartan and Leon charged forward furiously with their
weapons drawn high. Nymira quickly extended her tail and sliced
through the necks of three more assassins in one smooth motion. She
snapped her head up and unleashed dragon's breath that engulfed a
handful of vampires who had leapt from the roof. Vartan jumped off
a pile of hay and brought his sword down to crash through an
assassin, slicing its body cleanly in half. The two halves of the
vampire’s flesh and bones fell to the ground with a thud before
turning into dust. Leon and Vartan turned together with their
swords ready to face the remainder of the attackers.

"You sure have grown, my boy!" Leon
laughed.

With a gust of wind past their faces,
Nymira’s immense body landed behind the vampires. She narrowed her
eyes and blew jets of fire into the sky as a warning to the rest of
them. Four vampire assassins stood side by side on the roof, unsure
of what to do next. They looked at one another, mumbled something
out of earshot and nodded. One of them brought a horn to his lips
and blew hard, sending a grumbling sound through the forest.

At first, there was no response. Then, one
after another, they heard the shrieks echoing from the forest build
until they were almost a unified, deafening noise. Hundreds of
vampires ran from the surrounding forest and covered the farm like
ants, blazing their way towards them at inhuman speed.

“By the gods, son—the entire vampire army is
upon us!” cried Leon, nervously swinging his sword and turning in
all directions.

Vartan looked up to see a cloud of assassins’
daggers spinning towards them and barely had time to consider his
next move.

Chapter 16: A Time to Live, A Time to
Die

“What have I done with my whole life? I’ve
spent countless years wasting it away with drink and thievery. I
think it’s time that I do something worthwhile. What is the good of
jewels and treasure when our whole world is covered in
darkness?

It is time for me to take a stand and show
everybody that I am more than a thief.”

(Tusdar, Master Thief of Greenhaven)

Trisa tucked her hair behind her ears,
retrieved a pungent dark green herb from her pack, and gently
rubbed it under Helenia’s nose.

“We cannot thank you enough, Trisa,” said
Andrielle. “In times like this, an elven healer is indeed difficult
to find. We needed all the warriors we could get, so all the
healers we have are being trained for war. Perhaps I should
reconsider that strategy.”

“I am glad to be of service to you, my new
Queen. Thank you for allowing me entry and safety within the walls
of Veldrenn. Mind you, I am a bit unsure of my safety here right
now.”

Bang…

"I agree with you,” replied Andrielle. “I
only wish we had more time to prepare."

Another rumble ran through the ground and
rattled the plates and furniture within the house. Helenia stirred
to life and turned to stare with clouded eyes at her worried mother
seated beside her. Trisa brought a specially brewed steaming cup of
tea to the princess’s lips and gestured for her to take it.

“Please, drink up, Princess Helenia,” said
Trisa. “This will return your energy. The quickened healing process
drained most of your body’s reserves. Mind you, I’ll be honest and
tell you that there was not much there to begin with. You might
want to save the use of magic for an absolute emergency, or until
you learn to master the use of it. Otherwise, it may just be the
death of you.”

Helenia drank the tea slowly, rubbing her
head with her other hand.

Bang…

Another loud rumble almost sent the tea
flying out of her grasp.

“What is that? Are we safe here?” asked
Helenia, her voice breaking in panic.

Andrielle clenched her fists and spoke
through hardened lips. “Unfortunately, none of us are safe here
anymore, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to just sit still in here
and wait for any of us to be killed by that foul excuse of a woman,
Kassina."

She marched toward her door and yelled,
“General Faowind!”

The door almost immediately burst open, and
for the first time Helenia laid her eyes on the awaiting elven and
human joint army in formation outside of their door.

“Oh my goodness, we are actually ready for
war!” exclaimed Helenia.

Faowind bowed. “Your orders, my Queen?”

“General Faowind, are our forces prepared to
move out?”

Faowind beamed with pride. “Of course they
are, my Queen. Archers are ready with plenty of arrows, our
soldiers with the burst shooters are ready, and our knights will
accompany us in battle on horseback."

Bang…

A rather large rumble sent dust flying
through the room. Helenia returned to her feet and snatched her
sword from beside her bed, readying it by her side.

“We have very little time now, Faowind,” said
Andrielle, “and I want you to help me with my armour. Are our
horses readied?”

Faowind responded as he entered the room
dragging a heavy cart covered in a royal silk blanket. “The horses
are armoured and waiting outside, and Your Highness’s royal battle
armour and cleaned sword are already here.” Faowind started to pull
out Andrielle’s armour and quickly dressed his queen, taking care
with each piece.

Trisa approached Andrielle with soft steps.
She bowed and asked softly, “Great Queen, I may be a healer by
trade, but I would serve you well on the battlefield and am handy
with any weapon. Please allow me the great honour to ride with you
into battle, and I will tend to you and your party in the event
that you are wounded."

Andrielle only blinked before answering,
“Your request is granted, Trisa. We need all the help we can get.
Faowind will bring you one of our few reserve horses and a spare
sword. However, we are well and truly out of armour, so I would
suggest avoiding battle as much as possible."

Bang…

Another rumble knocked over the cart of royal
armour. Helenia helped Faowind lift the cart off the ground and
growled, "I can't wait to put a blade through that bitch."

Faowind smiled. “You may just get that
chance. They are getting closer."

He gently slid Andrielle’s helm over her
head, covering and protecting most of her face, save her eyes. She
turned her attention to Helenia and was quite a sight to behold,
even for her daughter. The royal battle armour was the prized
possession of any elven royal who was privileged enough to wear it.
Helenia would inherit her mother’s armour upon her ascension to the
throne, but had specially made armour of her own to tide her over.
The queen’s armour shone gloriously, and was set with jewels imbued
with magical power that she could tap into during battle. Her helm
connected to golden scales that draped over her shoulders, and the
face of a dragon was carved into the shiny metal of her face
plate.

“Faowind, if you would please fit my reserve
helm onto Helenia?” she asked with a knowing smile.

Helenia suddenly realised that she would
finally have her wish granted. Faowind stood close behind her and
slid the heavy helm over her head. Andrielle’s reserve helm was
identical to her first, but bore the carved face of a hawk.

Helenia stuttered as her face paled. “Thank
you, mother. I—I will not let you down."

“I know you wouldn't. But you will stay close
to either myself or Faowind. Nothing is for certain when we reach
the battlefield. You have to be prepared for
anything
. Is
that clear?” said Andrielle, raising her sword.

“Of course, as clear as crystal waters,”
replied Helenia.

Faowind pulled a slightly beaten sword from
the cart and handed it to Trisa. They all joined their queen in
raising their swords together.

Bang…

Another rumble sent plates crashing to the
ground and shattered into tiny pieces. They all swayed with the
force of the impact.

Andrielle spoke again. “In the touching of
our swords, we become as one. This is our first and last stand. We
have nowhere else to run and we will no longer hide. Our forces
will combine our strengths and we will win this day on the
battlefield, or die trying. Let us touch swords now.”

In a circle, they touched their swords at the
tips, the ceiling of the house lighting up with reflections of
forged metal.

Andrielle's voice was firm as she continued.
“Victory will be had, or death shall be embraced. For all that is
pure!”

“For all that is pure!” they chanted.

They sheathed their swords in unison and took
a moment to look each other in the eyes. Fear was overtaken by
necessity, and necessity finally turned into determination.

“We
all
know what we have to do, so
let’s go and get it done,” said Andrielle with a nod.

They walked out the door together and made
their way to their waiting horses. Andrielle’s army was quite a
sight to behold, and covered the majority of the city’s grounds.
Mounted on horseback, Andrielle, Helenia and Faowind approached the
front ranks of their awaiting men and women. The Knights of the
Elves made their way behind their queen.

Some of the army’s soldiers were barely in
their teens, yet they held swords and other weapons in their
growing hands with the same confidence as their elders. Andrielle
lifted her face guard to greet her people face to face.

“The great and honourable Elven Queen,
Andrielle!” cried Faowind.

The army responded as one, moving to an
attentive stance and speaking with an almost deafening unified
voice.

“For the queen!” they screamed, stomping
their feet into the ground and banging their swords against their
shields.

Bang…

A burning tree tore through the canopy,
crashing into a now-empty barracks and setting it alight as if it
were a wick for a candle. Unaffected by the interruption, Andrielle
addressed her waiting army.

“I welcome all of you, brave souls. Some of
you have come from faraway lands to join our fight here today, to
join the most important fight of our lifetime. We stand here
together, unified against the darkness that shadows over us. We
stand here to say that we will live in fear no longer! Today, you
will not bow to me as your queen, and I ask for no favouritism. On
this day, we will shed blood together, standing shoulder to
shoulder. And on this day, we shall be triumphant as equals!” said
Andrielle.

The mass of soldiers smashed their shields
into the ground, while still holding their disciplined stance.
Andrielle spun her horse around and faced the direction from which
the burning trees were thrown – Kassina’s direction. She turned her
face back to her army and continued.

“Kassina and the Dark Army would love for us
all to cower in fear until they can pick us off and destroy us all.
Our allies, the dragons, have already begun the battle, and we will
help them to win the war! We will not bow to her dark wishes. We
will take the fight right to that heartless wench’s lips and tell
her, as her armies fall to the ground around her, that we are
unafraid!"