Amidst The Rising Shadows (Book 3) (24 page)

“There is a cluster of troops hanging back from the main force attacking the city. We think it’s there, but we’ll have to wait for them to commit to their attack before we make our move,” Gavril said.

Battle drums of the Khamearrian army thundered through the air. Sarah drew in the energy and leaped to the rooftop to get a better look. The others climbed up while the bulk of their force stayed upon the ground below. William of Lorric ruled this city and divided his troops with half upon the walls, while sending out the other half to harry the Khamearrian army as it came through the sea of buildings beyond the wall. Sudden flashes of light from Elitesmen attack orbs took out the archers on the rooftops. A group of thirty FNA soldiers zoomed away from the walls upon their gliders. Golden bolts of energy returned fire, causing the line of soldiers to pause. Dark streaks of Elitesmen giving chase could be seen from the rooftops, but still the Khamearrian army pushed forward. Flashes of violet appeared on the walls as the Elitesmen used their travel crystals to wreak havoc upon the defenders.

Verona touched her arm and gestured toward the men being held in reserve. That’s where the focusing crystal was believed to be held. Colind joined them on the roof and watched the reserve forces of men intently, his eyes scanning. Sarah could sense the energy gathered in him in waves.

“I have it,” Colind said. “There is a line of wagons each marked with a designation. The focusing crystal is in one of those.”

“How do you know?” Verona asked.

“I could sense the remnants of a large burst of energy. It’s the only one in the line, and it would take a lot of energy to move an army of this size,” Colind said.

Shouts came from the streets below. A contingent of Khamearrian soldiers had broken off and stumbled upon them. The FNA soldiers charged. Sarah drew her sword and joined them. She caught a glimpse of Aaron sprinting ahead with his swords drawn. There were no Elitesmen with them, but more than a few stopped fighting when they recognized her, bringing both sides to a halt.

“Your Grace,” one soldier said, “We’re supposed to bring you back with us if we were to find you.”

Aaron stepped forward and held his sword to the man’s throat.

“No!” Sarah said to him and addressed the soldier, “If you be true Khamearrian sons you will give up this fight.”

"I have my orders, your Grace," the soldier replied.

“We can’t let them live,” Aaron said not taking his eyes from them.

“We can’t let them fight or report back to their commanders, but we don’t need to kill them,” Sarah said and gently lifted Aaron’s sword away from the soldier's throat.

“Bind them,” Sarah ordered, and an FNA soldier complied.

After the men were bound and locked in a building they moved on.

“That was a mistake,” Aaron said.

“One of many I’m sure to make, but it was the right decision. Something you used to know,” Sarah said.

Aaron was about to reply when a screeching cry echoed through the sky above them and was answered by a chorus of others.

“Ryakuls!” Verona hissed.

A great shadow plunged them into momentary darkness as a Ryakul passed overhead and blocked out the sun.
 

They charged forward and rounded the last corner that would give them a view of the main battle.

“Goddess be merciful,” Verona whispered.

The sky was filled with Ryakuls swooping in and killing the Lorric and FNA defenders in droves. The Lorric soldiers were scattering, with groups retreating at an all-out run back to the city walls. The Ryakuls left the Khamearrian line of soldiers untouched.
 

The FNA ran forward to engage the enemy troops and give the Lorric soldiers a chance to regroup. Sarah darted ahead, dispatching soldiers as she went. Sounds of snarling Ryakuls and men screaming their death cries were all she could hear. The skies were full of them, and they pounced upon any attempt at a regroup.

Aaron stood with a few FNA soldiers around him and watched the Ryakuls, his head cocked to the side as if he had never seen them before.

“Call the Eldarin!” Verona screamed.

Aaron turned to him and looked as if he hadn’t heard.

“Call the Eldarin; without them we won’t survive,” Verona said.

Sarah plunged her hand into her pocket and engaged the travel crystal.

Aaron’s eyes narrowed, “She leaves us. She knows we’re doomed. Run. Run for your lives!”

The FNA soldiers around them stood with their mouths agape, looking confused. Moments later, Sarah reappeared with the rune-carved staff in her hands and thrust it out to him.

“Call the Eldarin,” she said.

Aaron withdrew his hands as if she held a coiled viper.

“If you don’t we’ll all die,” Sarah cried.

“You’re already dead,” the man pretending to be Aaron sneered, and sprinted toward the walls, yelling for everyone to flee.

Amid the chaotic battle raging outside the walls of Lorric a lone figure charged forward. He stumbled and regained his footing and continued forward. His body was a mass of a poorly put together man, but still he lumbered forward amid the retreating soldiers.

“...IGHT!” the crippled man sputtered, his legs carrying him in a half trot. "Fiiiiight!"
 

The words spewed forth from his malformed mouth, but caught the attention of those around him.

Sarah watched as the crippled man known as Len lumbered forward through a wave of retreating soldiers. Some paused, uncertain of what they were seeing, while others turned to join him.

“Verona...” Sarah gasped, the medallion growing warm against her chest and the crystal's glow showing through her armored shirt.

The Ryakuls screeched in unison and turned sharply in the air. Sarah’s breath came in gasps as the Ryakuls closed in on them. She turned back to Len who was still more than a hundred yards from where they stood. He was down on all fours rocking back and forth, his head twisting in anguish. A slight shimmer came from under his tattered shirt.

“Verona...” Sarah called again, and he and Gavril came to her side. FNA soldiers beat back the Khamearrians who attacked.

Sarah turned to them, not believing what she was about to say, but her heart surged with the knowledge, “I think...
that
is Aaron.”

Verona’s eyes widened as he followed her line of sight to the crippled man. “It can’t be—”

Sarah blocked them out and drew in the energy, lunging forward, closing in on Len as he kneeled upon the ground. Soldiers from both armies fought all around him. His eyes met hers, and he cried out, scrambling away.

"No!" Sarah shouted and withdrew the medallion from her shirt. The crystal in the center oozed out a soft glow. Len’s eyes widened in fear, his face a mask of struggle.
 

It has to be you, my love.
Sarah quickly reached out and placed the medallion over his head. Len cried out in a deep guttural scream. His misshapen limbs flailed about, jerking wildly, and Sarah stepped back. The rune-carved staff flared to life in her hands as a beam of light surged forth from the medallion. The energy from the staff knocked Sarah and the surrounding soldiers back dozens of feet. A beacon of light shot forth, blazing into the sky. Verona and Braden came to her side and helped her regain her feet.
 

Elitesmen appeared all around them in a flash, and the High King’s soldiers pushed forward. She and Verona drew their swords, and Braden swung his Warden’s Hammer. They kept their backs to Aaron as they fought to protect him.
They can't have you
, she thought.

The Ryakuls closed in, swooping down and landing around them, lunging with their saber-tusked maws. Thunder cracked amid a cloudless sky, and a flash of green and white washed over the battlefield. Ryakuls turned away scattering.

The ground rumbled beneath their feet as two massive Dragons landed on either side of the beacon of light. Their growls rolled through the air. The Eldarin attacked, scattering the remaining Ryakuls from the sky, and the Elitesmen pushed forward. Sarah engaged the Elitesmen, fighting with everything she had. Verona guarded her back. Braden smashed his golden war hammer against his shield, and the enemy closing in around them was driven back. Their bodies being flung like rag dolls through the air.

One of the Eldarin crouched by Aaron and turned its full attention on him. A sphere of light surrounded Aaron. Sarah focused on guarding Braden, while the power of the Warden's shield blew back the Elitesmen and soldiers alike.

***

A huddled mass coiled within a glowing sphere, oblivious to the battle raging around him. He had a purpose once, an identity, but it was gone. A massive shadow loomed over him, and he shrank back.

Yours is a light meant to shine, Shandarian. The Eldarin will always heed the call of those marked by Ferasdiam.

The deep voice that sounded like two granite slabs rubbing together penetrated the fog around him. In the recesses of his mind an answering call came as a wave of warmth spread through his limbs.

Shandarian...
The words twisted and whispered in his mind.
Shandara...
It was important. Synonymous with the name, images flashed in his mind of pristine white walls and a Dragon cradling a single rose.

Len...Alen...
a voice whispered inside him.
Alenzar’seth!
Like a beacon stemming from his soul, the flood gates burst open. He was Aaron Jace, the last surviving member of the House Alenzar’seth. He felt the chains that bound his mind shatter, and he opened his eyes, seeing the battle being fought around him. He couldn’t move and felt his body being lifted into the air. An Eldarin Dragon focused on him, and thick tendrils of energy locked around him.

The land needs a champion...

The bones in Aaron’s body snapped and reformed so fast that the pain of it was gone before it became an impression in his mind. His misshapen legs and arms returned to normal, and a mass of red particles spewed out his mouth, dissipating in the air. Aaron felt his arms lift from his sides and his body rising farther into the air. The Dragon tattoo upon his chest flared, and he felt his heart begin to beat, his mind growing clearer.
 

Two golden bolts of energy came from the sky and slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The Eldarin roared, spreading its massive wings, and engulfed him protectively.

***

“They’re firing on him!” Verona shouted.

Gavril’s eyes widened as he glanced at the display on his comms device and back up at the sky, “That’s not one of ours.”

“If it’s not ours who the hell could it be?” Verona said.
 

Plasma bolts continued to rain down upon the Eldarin that held Aaron cradled in its wings.
 

Gavril’s fingers flew across his comms device, and his eyes lit up, “Tanneth, we have a mark sector three from my position.”

A golden Hythariam flyer sped into view and returned fire. Sparks flew from two smaller craft as their cloaks lifted and crashed into the ground followed by a small explosion.

“It’s the Zekara,” Gavril said.

The Ryakuls regrouped and circled around. There were two Eldarin, with one protecting Aaron while the other wheeled around fighting off the Ryakuls in a mass of tooth and claw.
 

The Eldarin upon the ground drew back, and a man stood. The ground smoked beneath his bare feet. He held the rune-carved staff in his hands, and a white glow surrounded his body.

“Aaron...” whispered Verona, “By the Goddess, Sarah was right.”

***

Aaron drew in the energy around him, feeding off the staff, and took to the sky. He leaped to the nearest Ryakul, swinging the rune-carved staff, sending bolts of energy into each strike, blowing out parts of the Ryakul's body in a grisly mess.

You are Ferasdiam marked. We heed your call, Safanarion.

The Eldarin’s words echoed in his mind as he fought. He danced through the sky, streaking from Ryakul to Ryakul. One of the Eldarin took to the sky and followed him, while the other remained still upon the ground. The energy flowed through Aaron as it not had since he had first taken the Nanites into his system. He stood upon the back of a dying Ryakul as it plunged toward the ground. The remaining Ryakuls fled over the backs of the retreating Khamearrian soldiers. Aaron’s gaze focused on a single Ryakul with a figure upon its back. His first thought was that of the Drake, but the Drake was gone. Someone else was controlling the Ryakuls.

His mind was as clear as it had not been for so long that it felt as if it was working in overdrive. He turned to the lone Eldarin that flew above him.

We have cleansed your body of the taint.

“Thank you,” Aaron said.

He heard a strange growl and saw the other Eldarin struggling to rise. Aaron raced back and winced at the scorched gashes upon its golden hide. The Dragon lord struggled to rise and turned toward him. One of its eyes was missing, and darkness swirled in the other like a storm cloud.
 

Aaron felt his heart fill his chest at the sight. He reached out, but the Eldarin snarled at him. The other Eldarin landed behind him and growled warily. Aaron leaped back and saw two Ryakul corpses that lay behind the Eldarin. His eyes darted to the wounds and felt the bile rise in his throat.