The Dark Paladin, page 25
part #3 of Ranger Series
“How would you like to see a live model?”
----*----
By the time Alex and Kinsey returned home, he found the three still sitting in the living room. Now, however, each had changed into travel clothes and had a bulging pillowcase nearby. Setting a small package on the table, he looked to Cassie as she spoke.
“I found these cloth sacks in the closet and thought they made the best choice for our trip,” Cassie explained.
Leander offered his for inspection. Inside the pillowcase was a plastic trash bag liner. In addition, Alex found what he suspected were all the Conan books he owned plus a few other similar titles mixed in.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he said with a sheepish grin.
Looking inside Cassie’s sack, he found it had also been lined with a plastic trash bag for waterproofing. Inside her bag he found day and night wear, the latter containing all of his favorites. There were several bags of hot chocolate mix and a few other food items she had taken a liking to, all sweets. He was surprised to find her watch in the mix.
“You know this won’t work back home?” he asked as he held it up for inspection.
“We know, but all agreed it was a nice memento of our trip to your home realm,” Abrianna explained.
“Well, you might add this to your stash then,” Alex said with a smile as he pulled the pocket watch he found in the Tribal Elf from his package.
Handing it to Abrianna, he explained.
“It’s a mechanical watch, so I expect it will continue to operate back home. I make no promises to its relevance, however.”
“These are for you two,” he added as he pulled the folder from the bag.
He first handed Cassie hers and then Leander the other.
“It’s beautiful!” Cassie exclaimed as she stared at the drawing of herself, a nymph in a white gauze dress emerging from an aqua pool. He had remembered her protests for the Franzetta Art book and had insisted on an appropriate dress. Truth be told, it looked suspiciously like her Victoria Secret nightgown, but provided appropriate coverage none the less.
“Leander?” Alex asked of his friend as he passed the artwork to him.
Alex had asked that his be in the Conan the Barbarian style, the long sword and shield in hand and helmeted head with Leander’s face. It was a leaner Conan rather than the over muscled stereotype, and it suited him well.
“I am speechless, thank you my friend,” Leander offered as he stood to embrace Alex.
“It’s up to you to tell the story of that image,” Alex pointed out.
“Oh my,” Abrianna said as she reached for the drawing.
In typical fashion, Emma had drawn the warrior on a mound, his dead enemies all around and a very naked woman wrapped around one leg. The woman’s face was Abrianna’s.
“Sorry, that was the artist’s idea, not mine,” Alex added with a blush.
“Perhaps we can keep this one private?” Abrianna replied softly as she passed the image back to Leander.
----*----
Emma dropped the four off at Cedar Park, a community park that sat just below Alex’s house in the Highlands. At 1am, the traffic was nonexistent and the park lighting had been conveniently shut down by a thought from Alex.
“It’s a shame I couldn’t’ do this when I lived here,” he smiled to himself, imagining all the trouble he would have caused in his youth had he been able to work magic like this.
Before leaving, he had parked the Jeep in his garage, assuming the elves would deal with everything else as they had before. It went against his grain to leave the house in disarray, so he had taken a moment to clean up as well.
All five people, including Emma, left the parked car and walked to the edge of the parking lot, with Kinsey running off in advance of the group to inspect the grassy field. In the distance, Alex could make out the structures that consisted of a water park and a baseball field.
“What now?” Emma asked excitedly as Alex had offered to let her stay and meet Vesuvius in exchange for the ride.
“Give me a sec,” Alex replied as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate.
“Vesuvius, we are ready to go,” he thought to himself as he tried to project his thoughts to the wind.
“No need to shout, I’ll be right there,” he got in immediate reply.
“Did you hear that?” Abrianna asked in surprise as she heard the dragon as well.
Before anyone could respond, there was a flutter of wings, very large wings, and Vesuvius lightly set down in the field, causing Kinsey to retreat back to the others. That was not to say he left no mark in the grass, however, as Alex noted beep rifts wherever the Dragon placed a foot, claws digging deep into the turf. Someone was going to have a hell of a time explaining that to the groundskeepers in the morning.
This was Alex’s first real opportunity to see the entire dragon he had released onto the world from the cavern below London. He had tried to imagine the size of the creature based on what little he saw. His imagination was woefully lacking!
Like Naga, he was a true four-footed dragon, his wings separate appendages. Vesuvius was substantially larger in every way, two to three times larger. His body scales were bigger that the car they arrived in. He watched as the dragon settled onto its belly to make it lower to the ground, and then dipped one wing to act as a ramp.
“All aboard,” Alex and Abrianna heard, passing along the instructions to the others.
With Leander leading the way, Alex took Emma off to one side.
“Emma, this is Vesuvius,” Alex said as he led the young woman to the front of the beast.
“A snack?” Vesuvius asked optimistically.
“No, a friend. Smile nicely and she will immortalize you in ink and paint,” Alex projected in thought.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Vesuvius, you are truly amazing,” Emma said excitedly, unaware of the exchange.
Alex noted that the dragon dipped its head in acknowledgment of her complement. The gesture seemed to have the desired effect, as the young woman seemed to vibrate with excitement.
“OK, get your picture, and then we need to get out of here,” Alex instructed, as the young woman began to backpedal.
Moving backwards, she began pulling out her camera while he climbed aboard the dragon.
Shifting to the center of the dragon’s back, he found Kinsey was sitting between Cassie and Abrianna while Leander was behind the three. All had their pillowcase packages tightly in hand with Leander holding the one Alex had packed for himself before they left. A camera flash in the distance was the queue for Vesuvius to take flight.
“Hold on everyone,” Alex shouted to his companions as the dragon took no more than three steps before launching himself into the sky.
As Alex looks back to see the receding lights of his old home town, he wondered if he would ever see it again.
Chapter 28
As Vesuvius banked, Alex could see the gathered masses in a field below. The early morning sun was just beginning to illuminate the clearing as he watched two individuals approach one another from opposite sides of the clearing. One he immediately identified as King Ben, his mentor and Uncle-in-law. The other was a large armor-clad behemoth.
Half again as tall as Ben, it carried a double bitted ax in one hand and a very large sword in the other. Ben stood before the aggressor, empty handed and apparently unarmed, but Alex knew better.
“Clear the way!” Alex shouted as Vesuvius made a low pass, scattering the onlookers and causing Ben and his opponent to retreat in opposite directions.
With all eyes upon them, the dragon circled once more before landing lightly in the center of the field. No sooner had they stopped than Kinsey leapt from the dragon, landing halfway between Ben and the dragon. She had returned to her wolf form and was apparently quite pleased with the change.
“Father!” Abrianna shouted, as she was the next to slide off the dragon’s back, landing softly in the grass.
Leander was right behind his intended, leaving Alex to assist his wife until all four had dismounted. Rather than taking flight once more, Vesuvius simply folded his wings, sliding to one side, with his keen eyes scanning the area as if evaluating the situation.
“Abrianna, you are safe,” Ben declared as he embraced his daughter while reaching for Leander’s hand in acknowledgement.
Releasing Leander, Ben then waved Cassie to his side, wrapping a free arm about her as he continued to hold his daughter tightly. Alex swore he saw the hint of a tear in Ben’s cheek as he rubbed his face in her hair. By the time he looked up, the evidence was gone and Ben was in control once more.
“About time you got here boy, I’ve been stalling as long as I can!” Ben shouted to Alex as he released both women and whispered to them both while pointing to his camp.
“Take the wolf,” Ben added as he motioned for Cassie to take charge.
Ben moved up to meet Alex and shouted to those gathered on the far side of the clearing as he did so.
“Ailmer, as you can see the Lord Protector has returned. I suggest you reconsider your challenge before it is too late.”
Ailmer appeared flustered as he realized Alex had in fact returned, and it was clear that this had never been part of the plan. There was a flurry of whispering between the Vassal King and his advisors before anyone spoke.
“This changes nothing, King of Great Vale, the Challenge remains, as does the penalty,” Ailmer shouted from across the field.
“Ben what the hell is going on?” Alex asked in return.
“Ailmer is claiming the right of challenge after your rescue of Amelia. He says you dishonored him by a sneak attack and needlessly killed his men. Also, you attacked a guest under his protection,” Ben provided.
“So, who cares? His guest was a kidnaper and a villain!” Alex snapped.
“In affairs such as this, that matters little. One can make a challenge for just about anything, most don’t because the consequences can be most severe,” Ben explained.
“In this case?” Alex asked suspiciously.
“Winner gets the crown and the kingdom of the loser.”
“So that was Avenstore’s plan,” Alex responded.
“You saw Avenstore?” Ben asked.
“Yes. They sent me home, to our old home.”
“That I know, Elion did his best to reassure me. He said you needed everyone with you to get back here again,” he replied.
“Truer words were never spoken,” Alex acknowledged with a nod and a smile.
“No more delays! Let the Challenge continue,” Ailmer shouted, interrupting their conversation.
“Alex has returned. Your claim is against him, so he must be permitted to prepare,” Ben replied.
“You can explain as you fight. I care not if he, you, or you both confront the Paladin. It will make no difference in the outcome,” Ailmer boasted.
Shrugging off the coat he had worn for the trip home, Alex and Ben stepped out into the center of the clearing to face the approaching Paladin. Weaponless, Alex presumed his magical abilities were required for this and not steel. Standing there in his jeans and shirt he looked very out of place.
“What is that thing,” Alex asked as it came close enough for a detailed inspection.
“Avenstore’s gift to the Vassal King. We think its vulnerable to dragon’s but haven’t been able to confirm just how,” Ben explained as he and Alex stopped midway.
Ben and Alex separated slightly, as they watched the creature cautiously close the distance until they were all within fighting range. It turned in place until Alex stood before the Paladin, squared off in a confrontation. The thing appearing to appraise him as he raised his shields up in defense. He sensed his opponent probing him for weakness, the unseen attack a form of mental pressure rather than magical force.
Alex deflected the images and rage the being attempted to force into his mind, the effort intended to strike fear into its opponent. The visual array did provide him with insight into how the creature viewed combat and victory. He caught fleeting visions of its victims sucked dry of their essence while the creature drained the life from them. In return, Alex sent images of puppies and bunnies, mocking the creature’s fierceness as they chased him from the field of battle.
The armored knight appeared to glare at him in rage as it was denied the easy kill it expected from the unarmed prey. With a double bitted axe and sword still in hand, the challenger swung both with ease as he circled his prey. Alex had to weave and dodge as the knight worked to get its sense of distance from its opponent.
Ben had been working to keep the armored hulk between the two of them, positioning himself opposite Alex to better observe and contribute. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex could see the hulking dragon resting comfortably on its haunches as it watched the action before him. Alex recalled Ben’s suspicions around the Paladin and dragon weakness.
“Vesuvius a little help please,” Alex shouted as the dragon simply sat to one side, watching the engagement with amusement.
“I made no commitments to aid you in your fight once you returned home?” Vesuvius replied with a chuckle.
“True, but this creature was sent here by the very elves that enslaved you,” Alex replied quickly as the Paladin took a swing at him with its axe.
“So you say, Wizard, but I have no proof of that,” the dragon replied lightly.
Rolling away to avoid absorbing the impact on his shields, he returned with a blast of concentrated energy that staggered his opponent, taking him off his feet and squarely onto his back.
“Well done,” Ben commented with admiration.
“Your dragon friend appears to be of no use in this fight, let me try my own dragon fire, then,” Ben added as he blasted the Paladin with his best imitation Dragon Fire while it was down.
The flames wrapped themselves around the armored figure, causing it to begin to glow red. As everyone watched, the creature pushed itself up from the ground and faced its opponents once more, the glow still present in the daylight.
“Apparently there is no substitute for the real thing,” Vesuvius said smugly from the sideline.
Still in his clothes from the trip, his sneakers were slick on the damp grass, making his footing less that stable. A growl from behind reminded him that Cassie was holding Kinsey by her side, now returned to her wolf form and anxious herself to fight. The Paladin was not something she could confront, though, and he knew Ben had asked Cassie to keep her safe.
The dragon’s comment triggered a thought in Alex’s mind.
“You are right, why not use the real thing.”
Alex closed his eyes for only a second, seeming to concentrate on something before opening them once more.
“Ben, stand back, I got this,” he said in a firm voice.
----*----
It had been a long time since Ben received instructions from others in that way, but there was something in Alex’s tone that told him he should comply with his demand unquestioned. Those like Ben with magical ability, could see Alex was drawing in massive amounts of free energy as he stood in place. His white radiance was almost painful to the eyes.
Suddenly he sprang forward, shimmering blades of magical energy extending from both hands. The Paladin swung first, his sword meeting Alex’s only to find itself half its original length, the free end falling to the ground.
“Alex watch out.” Cassie screamed as the axe in the other hand had found its target in Alex’s midsection.
The blow sent the young Wizard flying across the field, landing on his back a good ten feet from the Paladin. Alex had no more than hit the ground, when Ben saw him spring to his feet, anxious to meet his approaching opponent once more.
“You are going to need more than that big boy,” Alex taunted as he swung another invisible sword at the Paladin.
The impact didn’t sever the arm it contacted, but the ring of magic on metal caused Ben to flinch in pain. The Paladin stepped back with the impact, clearly not expecting the force of the blow, though there appeared to be little damage.
“Yield and live!” Ailmer shouted from his sideline, his bravado somewhat diminished.
“I’m just getting started,” Alex replied as he rushed his opponent, battering it with blow after blow, forcing it to retreat.
“I have a lot of rage to work out!’ He shouted over the hammering he was delivering to the Paladin.
Ben was at a loss to Alex’s plan. While the young man was pummeling his opponent, in the end there wasn’t any visible damage inflicted. He agreed Alex was getting quite a workout, but all it was doing was prolonging the inevitable. Sliding over to one side, Ben approached Vesuvius in hopes of shifting the battle in their favor.
“Is there nothing that will convince you to intercede?” he asked the dragon telepathically, as they both watched Alex go flying once more from the Paladin’s blow.
Even wrapped in his shields, Ben knew Alex had to be taking a beating every time the Paladin scored a hit like that. The evidence of such was his slow recovery with the last blow.
“Why would I? Choosing sides has never worked out well for my kind. Besides, I haven’t had this much fun in a thousand years!”
“You feel no debt to him for freeing you?” Ben asked, indicating Alex as he charged his opponent once more, the telltale ringing of his armor validating the repeated blows.
“That has been paid in full.”
“What can I give you to change your mind?” Ben asked, hoping to buy the dragon’s help.
“You have nothing I desire.”
----*----
Alex knew he couldn’t keep this up much longer. He had built himself up a magical armor that would take the best the Paladin had to offer, but in the end, his inability to even scratch his opponent was problematic. While not the death blows he was wishing for, he had hoped to be able to pummel him into some form of submission.
Selecting another tactic, Alex took a few steps back to gather himself. The Paladin seemed to grant him his pause, likely unsure of the ruse being planned. Once again, Alex drew in all the free energy about him, in such abundance in comparison to what he had been accustomed to back home.
