Ash continued to shake his head with his mouth open, in a condition of shock and disbelief. He knew about TarCranian wizards, how powerful they were and how attached they were to their wands. A catastrophe of grand proportions. Perhaps they would never discover what happened to it. How dreadful!

  Ryxa and Daganth stared at one another; they knew that the fate of the world just might be riding on the wizard, and without his wand they may all be doomed. SeaBeasts swam exceedingly fast, nearly as fast as a dragon flew, and they could be leagues away already. And following them underwater was impossible.

  “Why is everyone so sad?” asked Bahati. “It was only a stick.”

  Marcus remained in the wet sand dejected. What am I going to do? Absolutely nothing works without my wand. I may as well not be a wizard. He got up and ran, climbed on Daganth. “Come on let’s fly! Maybe we can still see them and get their attention.”

  Wings flapped and cut through the air as they all took flight. They flew to the height of a hundred and fifty men as they scanned the ocean below for movement. They could see several large swordfish as they jumped out and then plopped back into the sea but no sign of the SeaBeast or her baby. The further they flew the more discouraging it was for Marcus. They circled back toward the island, thinking that perhaps they had missed something but no luck.

  Marcus was beyond despondent. The situation was hopeless.

  A large sailing ship appeared from the left side of the island, one second it hadn’t been there and then suddenly it was. As they surveyed it from the air, it was moving with magical bursts of speed. About ten bowmen were aboard that they could see, and they also had two giant crossbows mounted. They launched a great arrow that was the size of a tree, just missed Ryxa and Bahati as they both got out of the way. Attacking her kids was going to get all of them burnt to a crisp.

  “Wait here!” Ryxa shouted as she headed for the ship.

  Ash was going through a list of spells but strangely not one would work on the attacking boat. He was getting tired of his spells being ineffective. The vessel, made from enchanted red oak wood and was even resistant to his fire spells. They watched as Ryxa engulfed it with fire, but after the flames disappeared there was no effect whatsoever, and she took three of their smaller arrows in her side for her trouble. The arrows only went in a thumbnail deep. However, they continued to try and work their way in, squirming like a snake, losing their rigidity. But once inside they would solidify.

  “Ryxa, are you okay?”

  “Not really,” she said, partially out of breath as she joined the others. “I feel ill.”

  Ash flew close to Ryxa and removed all three arrows that were wiggling and dropped them into the ocean. She was immediately back to her old self, completely recovered as another arrow just missed Marcus.

  “If we can’t destroy them we better make a run for it!” Marcus screamed.

  The dragons flew their fastest but with another burst of speed, the ship with the big yellow sails shot under them and fired more arrow, including two of the larger bolts. The arrows were dodged but not by much. They tried to fly so high that they would be out of range, except something was keeping them from accomplishing it. An enchantment attached to the vessel prevented dragons from flying beyond the reach of their weapons. It was a dragon hunting ship! Marcus had heard of them from his father. If a dragon flew within a certain range, it was then under the influence of the vessel’s magical properties.

  An arrow hit Daganth in the side just above Marcus’s thigh; the wizard extracted it and tossed it toward the water. He so missed his wand and even the companionship of it. Without it, none of his spells would work properly, and it was dangerous to try. Ryxa dove as fast as she was able, intending to hit their sails, but she bounced off the invisible shield and colliding with it hurt. She took arrows at the top of her tail, in a position that she couldn’t reach, and a cheer went up from the sailors below. A fatal blow of which there was no escape. They would harvest her scales and make shields out of them as they could sell them at a hefty price.

  Marcus directed Daganth to get close to his mother, and he leaped onto her, slid to where the arrows had embedded themselves, yanked them out and dropped them to the chagrin of the hunters below. The wizard took a bolt through his ankle and because of the excruciating pain fell toward the ocean below, too close to the sea for anyone to catch him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  THE KNIGHTS RAN DOWNHILL towards the hunters as Kinborough screamed to prepare themselves for battle. Fortunately, for them the wolves avoided the four, jumping over a large rotted tree on the ground and attacking and killing an elk less than half a league from where the huntsmen were.

  Within a brief period, the elk was eaten, some hide and bone fragments remained. The white wolf that was Adorok had his face full of blood and most of a leg in his belly. The former wizard was not impressed with what he had done, nature or not.

  Several days later the silver knights, led by Adorok were approaching the kingdom of Leeander when they saw Bloodfire floating above his men in the encampment and gazing at the castle. Adorok could sense the sorcerer’s evil intentions. Suspended over his warriors, he was pulling what appeared to be lava out of the earth, forming a large sphere that was already big enough to fit three or four men and getting bigger. He had no doubt that he was going to hurl the weapon into Leeander, perhaps at the castle, guessing that it might penetrate the wall.

  “That’s Bloodfire!” Adorok knew him from a single encounter years ago, and he definitely had aged. They had battled as Bloodfire had killed a friend to steal his magical tome. He had vowed to avenge Chiimatha, but as the years had passed, Adorok let the matter drop. He appears to be getting tired. I’ll wait until that son-of-a-bitch gets even more drained and then we’ll attack. Win or lose; I’ve no desire to remain in this form. What the hell is he doing now?

  The sorcerer had commenced pulling another element out of the ground with his left hand. Adorok didn’t recognize whatever it was, but it was greenish with rust colored fragments within that were the size of small rocks. And gradually it began to take the shape of a globe as well. The knight-wolves entered tall grass as they got closer, and Adorok could see that the strain on his face. With his men watching it was likely that the sorcerer wouldn’t want to show that he was unable to complete his invocation, assumed that he was going to combine the two, perhaps in flight before the struck the castle wall.

  Bloodfire’s face was perspiring heavily, and he was even beginning to shake. In such a state, he looked as though he might just drop dead. The green sphere had attained the size of his head and the one with the magma remained relatively stable, but now the wizard’s nose had started to bleed though no one dared to interrupt his concentration.

  There was a scuffle in the grass; a warrior had attempted to cut the throat of one of the silver knights when sharp teeth grabbed his throat, and the attacker suffocated. The alarm sounded as the wolves were spotted. The distraction obliged Bloodfire to drop both sphere’s, his eyes widened as they rolled towards one another because he was aware that should they touch the energy would release.

  Adorok attacked, and the others followed. He grabbed Bloodfire by his right leg and chewed directly through the bone; the foot separated from his leg and dropped to the ground. Bloodfire launched miniature swords from both of his hands, hitting Adorok and another carnivore, but there was no effect on Marcus’s magical creatures. The sorcerer hit the ground screaming, crawling as fast as he could to stop the globes from colliding as they were so close. It was too late. They touched, and the explosion was so destructive that it blew an enormous crater in the ground, killing every single warrior, including the Knights and the wizard.

  The ground shook as did the castle.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  JULIANNA JUMPED FROM THE CASTLE WINDOW USING A SPELL to slow her fall, a sigh of relief she touched down lightly. She had to use her feminine wiles twice to influence the guards to get out of the kingdom and breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the woods. King Darrius was dead, and they would go to great lengths to kill her now, an unfortunate result of her enchantment gone wrong. It might have been a miscalculation in judgment knowing that his son was a TarCranian wizard, but there was no going back. She had made many enemies over the year so a few more shouldn’t matter though Julianna would need to be leagues away from Leeander soon or else.

  As Julianna made her way through the forest she tossed two small brooms behind; they would mend broken branches and sweep away a track or two, making it difficult if not impossible to follow her. When she finally arrived at her cabin deep in the forest, she ran up the ramp and into her bedroom. She paced for a time trying to decide on her next move, hating to relocate once again. When their wizard returned, he might be able to track her down, or just send some wicked spell to kill her. She would like to see how they handle Darrius’s death, and she wouldn’t be able to do that from much further away as her ability to see only reached so far. Her preservation was of the utmost importance, especially if she was going to make her presence known far and wide.

  She spent most of that night pacing and looking out over the forest, listening for knights coming to kill her. She had killed a King, and there was some pride in that, not many could write it on their list of accomplishments. Whether she would go down in history was uncertain but more confident than a week ago because now it was likely. Perhaps they would even have her image in some book as the witch that killed a King.

  Julianna was getting low on magical ingredients, and her weavings of protection were weakening. Many thought that witches were all powerful but they weren’t, at least, she wasn’t. Her abilities ebbed and flowed, most powerful under the light of the full moon, but that time had passed for another month. She knew that the area had a few purple strawberries that could give her an enchanted boost, but couldn’t remember the location as she had eaten a few in passing. She supposed that she might be able to blame everything on that stupid volcano discharging all that magic into the world, even her failing memory.

  The following morning, she had recalled the general location of the purple berries and set off into the fog filled woods. She hoped that by the time she reached the area of the strawberries that the fog will have lifted, on the way she could do some planning. A stroll through the forest was usually enjoyable though she was much too stressed to appreciate it. The brooms followed, erasing her tracks as she went. When Julianna was almost two leagues away from her cabin, she heard something. Did someone manage to follow me? A lone pursuer? Has Marcus returned and managed to follow me? She made a ball of fire the size of an eyeball, hovering just above the palm of her hand. If she managed to hit him before he could react it would engulf him and the pain would be excruciating, giving her a chance to get away though he would likely survive it; it would undoubtedly disturb his magical flow.

  Perhaps it had been the wind rustling through the leaves? She was on guard and listening intently. That death might be near was frightening. The sound of a branch breaking, obviously someone nearby though it could be an animal she supposed. However, the fog was so dense that Juliana couldn’t see a damn thing. I should have waited until the fog lifted before setting out. Wasn’t thinking properly. I won’t be able to hit anything. She was scared to move a muscle, thinking that whoever was out there would have the same problem was a little comforting unless they had created the mist.

  “Hello? Is there someone there? I’m lost.” It was a girl’s voice, a mere child.

  The witch’s heart skipped several beats. “Who are you?” asked the witch. “Where are you?” Was it a child or deception to catch her off guard? It would be something that she would do; distractions were smart decisions where battle was concerned. Julianna attempted to remain perfectly still.

  “I’m right here. I can’t see anything. I’m from Dragonshire, and I can’t find my way back. Can you help me?”

  Dragonshire? That’s leagues from here. She might perish out here, not that’s it’s my concern. “Come closer where I can see you. Follow my voice.” The fireball remained at the ready, but she saw that it was indeed a small child, and she looked frightened.

  “My name is Dawn. What’s your name?” She looked up at Julianna and thought she was beautiful.

  “My mother hasn’t given me a name yet.” She extinguished the fireball that she was holding behind her back as it took energy to keep it. Some children could be made to believe just about anything though others too smart for their sake.

  Dawn was confused that she didn’t have a name, but she was tired and hungry and so wanted to get back. “Can you take me home?” Fear in her voice. What if she refused? What would she do then?

  “I don’t have the time to do that, but I can show you how to get home.”

  “Okay.” The voice was as tiny as Dawn, a skinny blond thing.

  “Do you hear the brook?”

  “Yes. I almost fell in twice.”

  Julianna nodded. “That’s the Shire Brook, follow it that way and it will bring you back to Dragonshire.”

  “That’s the Shire Brook? Okay.”

  “Get going. What are you waiting for?”

  “Okay.”

  As the child headed for the brook, Julianna sat and waited. The girl should be able to make it back in one piece if a bear or something else didn’t get her. Several hours passed before the mist finally lifted, and she could resume her search for the berries. She located the patch just before noon and was disappointed to see that they weren’t ripe and had weeks to go by the look of them. And eating one that was unripe was useless. It had been time wasted.

  She heard something crashing behind her and turned to see a crow that was as tall as three men standing on each other’s shoulders. It hopped toward Julianna, and she fell over, the caw so loud that it hurt her ears. Hitting it with not one but two fireballs did nothing. Its beak hit the ground just missing her face, the bill as long as her arm she thought. She guessed that the bird had flown into that supernatural storm.

  The crow considered that the witch would make a good meal, and again it attacked.

  …

  In the courtyard, Raina stepped away from the large letters that she was placing on the ground. A knight approached her and told the sad news of the King’s demise, killed by that damn witch. She sobbed at the shock of the news that Darrius was dead. Raina went to her chamber and cried. After the reality had set in her thoughts went to poor Marcus, who would only discover the death of his father when he returned. And then Raina’s grief turned to anger. She was furious with herself for not being able to kill that bitch and this was the result.

  Alexa appeared in the doorway with puffy eyes. “We should have put her to death when we had her.”

  Raina had to struggle to keep from crying. “Have they picked up her trail?”

  “Not yet, unfortunately, she appears to have vanished.” Alexa continued down the hall, wandering and not knowing what to say or do. It was all like a nightmare.

  Raina considered what to do next. She was a pretty good hunter and might be able to locate some signs of which way Julianna went. It wouldn’t hurt to try. So she equipped herself with her sword, bow and arrows, got a horse from the stable and headed out. However, she knew that she was vulnerable in her frazzled state of mind and would need to remain attentive to the task at hand.

  As the knights had picked up the trail, she followed the tracks south of the kingdom where they entered the woods but then vanished. No broken branches or other signs to indicate which way she went. Raina tried to envision what she would have done to put others off her tracks, and, of course, that would have been not to continue straight where she had entered the forest. She walked around the edge of the woods looking for signs, after several hours of frustration she had found nothing. Julianna couldn’t have walked too far on the perimeter. Otherwise, she would have been spotted. I must go back and look closer. Maybe she jumped from tree to tree with the aid of magic. I WILL kill her if I get the chance. She’s lucky that I’m not one to inflict torture.

  Raina retraced her steps, paying attention to both the treetops and the ground. What if she had climbed a tree and was still up in one of them. She looked down at her feet. Something was different here but what? Where a footprint might have been the soil was disturbed. She headed northeast to see if she could find another area that was comparable and she located one, and then another. Raina might be able to follow these scratchings or whatever they were, and one thing was for sure, the next rain would swallow them up.

  I can’t find the next one. Where are you? Show yourself damn it. She did a semi-circle and discovered that Julianna had changed directions. A leaf stuck into the ground, appeared to have bristles or something poked down on and around it, concealing a print she thought.

  She uncovered several more and then again she was at a loss to continue. The ground was harder here and didn’t give any hints. And again she wasn’t able to find any more of the disturbed ground. She hoped the Knights were having better luck.

  Raina sighed and endured the search for almost another hour though she was starting to believe that it was an impossible task. Maybe she was following some animal though her instinct told her otherwise. She felt that she was tracking the witch though again she was unable to make progress and sat with her back against a tree. Raina gave into misery for a time. Crossing her arms, she cried for the King and for Marcus and the terrible news that awaited him. After a time of reflection, Raina continued in the same general direction, luck shone on her with the discovery of another patch of disturbed soil. There were some that she had missed, but that didn’t matter as she could now again move forward.

 

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