The Sorcerer's Destiny (The Sorcerer's Path) (43 page)

“This is a matter in which I am uncomfortably ignorant,” Jarvin said. The tension of not knowing where or if they even had allies was evident in his voice. “It is somewhat difficult to employ our forces to their fullest effect when I have no idea what the other half is doing or if they are even going to come.” 

“I apologize for not keeping you abreast, but the fact is that I do not have a great deal of information to share beyond what I have already told you.” Azerick directed his words to Yusuf. “The dwarves have allowed us access to their deeper caverns should the war go badly, and Duncan Runecarver, a notable person within the dwarven kingdom, has assured me that they are preparing their people to fight the Scions.”

“But are they going to actually come and fight with us, or will they hole up beneath the mountains and fight only if their homes are threatened?”

“I am confident the dwarves plan to join us here in the valley.”

“When?”

“That I cannot say. Communication with them is challenging, and my most recent…misadventure…has not afforded me the time to get clarity on their preparedness.”

“You spoke of the elves as well. What of them?”

“I have had no contact with the elves since I asked their representative to inform his people of the impending invasion and beg their aid to defeat them once again.”

The Sumaran King turned his eyes to Jarvin. “You had a representative of the elven people here in your kingdom?”

“Representative is a rather grand title. He was part of an oddly effective adventuring group I employed. I would put little faith in his ability to rally his reclusive people to come to our defense. He has all the focus and sanity of a drunken housecat.”

“I would not judge him too harshly,” Azerick defended. “He is far more than he appears and a little more lucid than he might let on.”

“He would need to be a great deal more lucid than what I witnessed just to find his way back to bed after using the privy.” 

“I have faith in him and our nonhuman allies. Speaking of allies, I made another while I was away.”

“We can certainly use all the help we can get. Who are they?” Jarvin asked.

“It is not a they but a he. His name is Ancalon and is known as the Father of Dragons.”

“He is the father of these murderous, tyrannical monsters?”

“He is, in name and in blood. It is he who opened the rift so our people could escape Brelland. Without his help, at least half the populace of the capitol would be dead.”

“I’ll be the first to admit I know less about dragons than I do the moon, but I find it unlikely his kind does anything for free. What is his price?”

“When this war is over, there will be no retaliation against the surviving dragons.”

“Impossible! These creatures are murdering my people! They have razed our greatest cities to the ground, and you and he expect us to let them go—just let bygones be bygones? No! I will personally hunt every last one of those creatures down, track them to the highest aerie, and climb down into the deepest hole to exterminate them from the face of this world!”

“No, you will not. I will not allow it.”

Azerick’s face looked carved from stone. Jarvin’s looked like the face of a volcano about to erupt. Blackguards shifted their weight, ready to leap into battle. The King’s hand brushed the hilt of his demon-slaying sword but did not grip it.

“You will fight me? After all you have done for my people, your people, you will fight us to protect the things that killed their fathers, sons, and daughters?”

“I gave my word, and I will not break it.”

“What of your word to me? What of your word to defend this kingdom?”

“I feel I am still keeping it. The dragons are as much of this kingdom as anyone, even if you are not their king. You said yourself; the kingdom is more than just one man.”

“I ask you again, why would you make such a pact? Why would you put them above your own kind?”

Azerick smiled and wagged his head ever so slightly. “What is my kind, Jarvin? Who are my people? You still think of me as human. Even if I was, what have they ever done but bring me pain and misery? I have watched humans step on the necks of those they call lesser men for nothing more than gold and power, and they do this of their own free will. The dragons are controlled by the Scions. They have never sought to oppress or fight us of their own volition. They are the victims of our one true enemy. When we destroy the Scions, the dragons will go and find refuge away from humanity just as they did before to live with the shame of their weakness and actions for which they are not to blame.”

“You ask a great deal of me, Azerick Giles. You ask a great deal of all the people who suffer because of those beasts, willing or not.”

“Have you heard of the dragon who fights for us? She is one of my dearest friends, and she fights against her own kind and against incredible odds. Will you sentence her to death as well to appease your vengeance?”

“Of course not! I am not a monster.”

“Do you really mean to say you could tell one dragon from another? Could the men and women you send out to slay them? I toppled a city as powerful as a small kingdom when I was a far lesser man in part because of her. May the gods have mercy on anyone who hurts her, because I will not.”

“Jarvin,” Yusuf said softly, “we were enemies not so long ago. War makes strange bedfellows. It may be that one day we will need the dragons to fight an even greater enemy just as I am here fighting with you today.”

Jarvin’s hand squeezed the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. “I will issue an edict that no dragon be pursued upon the cessation of hostilities. But they will depart, and any damage or harm they cause after this war will mean immediate extermination.”

“He expects nothing more.”

Jarvin dropped his hand from his sword and let out the breath he was holding. “I think we should all see to our much-deserved rest. Yusuf, I am sure you have many things to take from this meeting back to your generals. We should all meet again in two days. Hopefully, that will settle all our nerves and weary bodies.”

“You speak the truth of it, Jarvin. I brought my best bottle of wine from my cellar to share with you after our victory, but perhaps I will bring it for when we next meet. I do not wish to beckon bad luck or tempt the fates, but I think it would be a greater crime to chance letting it go undrunk.”

“I look forward to it, Yusuf.”

Devlin took Azerick by the arm and steered him toward the door. “I know you are likely exhausted, but I would like to hear about this ‘misadventure’ you went on. I would also dearly like to meet your son. He sounds fascinating.”

“Headmaster, would wait with me for just a few minutes?” Jarvin asked, stopping Magus Florent before she was able to pry herself out of her chair.

The Academy Headmaster nodded to her two associates, and they followed behind the others as they shuffled from the room. Even the Blackguards departed, leaving the senior mage alone with Jarvin and Miles.

“I know you are exhausted, Headmaster, but I wanted Miles to see why what we must do is so important,” Jarvin said.

Miles looked at his father questioningly. “I don’t understand. What are we doing?”

“Azerick Giles is a threat to this kingdom every bit as great as the Scions,” Jarvin explained to his son.

“But he is helping us fight them. He is practically our savior.”

“It is true that the Scions are the more immediate threat, and he is vital to our defense. But you saw how he threatened to turn on us if I did not bend to his will. This is not the first time he has done this, and it will not be the last unless we do something about it.”

“He had given his word, Father. Did you not teach me that my word means everything? Should he be held to a different standard?”

“It is so much more complicated than that, Son. He killed a nobleman in my hall in front of everyone without hesitation, remorse, or consideration for our laws because it was expedient. What other values will he set aside for the sake of expedience? Even if I agreed with his action in that situation, what about the next one? What crimes will he commit, what laws will he violate because he feels himself justified? Who can stop him or hold him accountable?”

“You are talking about assassination. You just said yourself we lack the power to hold him to our laws, so you will set aside your morals and sense of justice, just as he did, for the sake of expediency. So, because he is powerful, we will forgo his trial and discard the laws and rights you yourself created and swore to uphold.”

“It is more than just his power, Miles. You saw how easily he rallied not just North Haven to his call, but the kingdom of Sumara, the entire nation of dwarves, and possibly even the elves. They came not just because we all face a common foe, but because he asked them to. More than once he has threatened to remove me from my throne if I do not act or lead as he thinks I should. He toppled a powerful city in Sumara and brutally removed the previous Duke of Southport in a fit of vengeance. Granted, he was justified in those acts, but was his methods necessary, or were they simply expedient and gratifying? I do not like this, Miles, not in the least. But as King, sometimes I must set aside my values to defend my people. If I am wrong, then the people will rise up and remove me. Can they do that with him?”

Miles cast his gaze down onto the table, looked at the ranks of figures, and imagined the innumerable horde of savage creatures descending on them to tear them apart. “I understand, but I do not like it.”

Jarvin embraced his son, resting his bearded chin in the crook of his neck. He wondered when his son had grown so tall. “Nor should you. I am glad you question me, for actions like this must always be questioned. Your dedication to our laws and your sense of right and wrong make me proud. I included you in this awful affair because if I fall, it may be up to you to carry out Azerick Giles’ sentence.”

“Me? How could I?”

“The sword I wear was blessed by the gods to slay demons. The Headmaster and our clerics believe it will work on Azerick as well due to his demonic nature. If I fall in battle, you must pick up my sword and carry out his execution. How you do it is up to you. Remember what I said about your duty to our people. You may have to sacrifice your values and morals to ensure their safety. I hope this task does not fall to you, for such a reprehensible act will surely stain a decent man’s soul, it certainly will mine, and I would do anything to spare you from that taint.”

“Miles,” Maureen interjected, “you spent several years at The Academy and, although your interactions with the Magus Academy was minimal, I hope you know me well enough to know that I would never agree to something like this if it were not of paramount importance. Azerick was one of my brightest students, and I was very fond of him. He was a troubled but decent young man. I fear some of those troubles and a great many new ones have made him unpredictable and very dangerous. He has been possessed by a demon and then possessed that demon in turn. He spent years as the master of the abyss. No one, not even he, could suffer those experiences and walk away unaffected. It is an awful task, but one that must be carried out. It may not need to be done by you at all. There are four blades in four different hands.”

“No, my father is right. As King, it is my responsibility, and I will not ask another to do what I am unwilling to do. It is my duty, and I will shoulder the burden of guilt if I am able.”

“I have no intention of dying in this war, Miles, but if I do, I needed you to know and take up my sword.”

“I will, Father.”

***

“Your tales get more outrageous every time we meet,” Devlin said to his protégé. “Had I heard them from anyone but you, I would call them a liar.”

“I truly wish I were,” Azerick responded. “Being cut off from my magic in that world was rather unsettling. There were times I wished I did not have this power and the responsibilities forced upon me because of it.”

“We are glad that you do. Without you, these false gods would have ridden roughshod over us all and shackled the survivors with chains of servitude. Our civilizations would be reduced to such primitive levels we would not even be the same people. We all owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”

“Don’t start counting out your coins just yet. I have yet to fulfill anyone’s expectations. The Scions have not even taken the field. When they do, it will be another type of war altogether.”

“I have wondered about that. If they are so powerful and so confident in their superiority over us, why have they not come themselves and slain us all?”

“They know they cannot, not without great risk. We are not as weak and helpless as they want us to believe. They want to gauge our strength and let their minions thin our ranks, especially of our mages. We can hurt them. Like a swarm of bees, if we sting them enough we can hurt them. They have not forgotten their defeat, and we were not as strong then as we are now. Granted, we do not have the Guardians, but we have more soldiers and wizards. I also think that if they physically manifest in our world, they open the possibility of drawing in our gods as well. Our gods’ power is limited in this world, but that may not hold true if the Scions breech it first. They fought here once before after all. Only after they destroy the mortal threat will they feel confident in facing the gods.”

“I hope you are right. Their abominations are terrifying enough, and I have yet to even face them. I surely have no desire to do battle with their master.”

“Do not be too relieved. The Scions will not stand idle and let us destroy their army. If they think they are losing the battle, they will risk intervening.”

“You think they will come and engage us directly?”

Azerick smiled. “I am counting on it.”

“It is said they raised the Great Barrier Mountains in a day during the Great Revolution. How could we possibly stand against such power? What would prevent them from picking them up and simply dropping them on top of us all?”

“I have a plan, and if it is successful, you and the rest of our army will not have to face them at all. That battle will be for me, Raijaun, and the gods to wage, safely away from this world and its people.”