Read Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy Online
Authors: Carey Scheppner
“So if your magic fails,” said Kazin, “the queen will once again be as close to death as she was when you first raised her.”
“That’s correct,” said Grakath, grinning evilly. “Not even a necromancer will be able to raise her from the dead if I die!” He looked at the group assembled in the queen’s chambers and continued his story. “After the spell was complete, I couldn’t allow the queen’s brother to look at her eyes and suspect what had happened. He would have had me put to death and killed his sister without realizing it. I couldn’t very well kill him outright, so I decided that same day to have the queen’s children kidnapped, knowing William would follow the kidnappers to the ends of the earth if necessary. I had him lured into the Black Forest in the south where he was to be ambushed by my people. The children were then to be killed but they disappeared, along with the ambushers. After several months of not hearing from them, I assumed they were all dead—which was fine by me.
“It wasn’t until a few months ago that one of my spies—whom I had sent on a different errand in the southern realm—swore he saw the Guardian still alive and well. His description was the same as William, and he had the reputation of being a good sword fighter, so I had another spy sent to the southern lands to observe the individual. When it became apparent that this individual was quite possibly the queen’s son, I considered him to be a threat. I sent assassins to deal with him. They failed.”
“How was I a threat?” asked Sherman.
“I read it in the Book of Prophesy long ago,” snapped Grakath. “I had borrowed the book from my former master at the Tower of Sorcery. I studied the book closely for a long time, and one thing I remembered was the mention of the ‘Guardian’. It didn’t make sense to me until I found out about the status of the queen’s protector in this realm. It was then that I knew I had to eliminate the Guardian or he would defeat me. What I didn’t figure out until later was that the Guardian possibly referred to you!”
“Who was your master at the tower?” interrupted Kazin. “Was it Sandor?”
Grakath blinked. “How did you know?”
“Just a hunch,” said Kazin. “He was under the influence of one of the smoky rings identical to the one you’re wearing.”
Grakath grinned. “I know Sandor was an ambitious man, so I sent him one of the rings, with a note stating the benefits of the magic it had to offer. I was hoping to draw him away from the tower, but he refused. What I didn’t tell him was that the ring would eventually corrupt him.” Grakath chuckled. “I guess he found out the hard way!”
“You dirty swine!” growled Sir Galado. “Now we can’t even have the pleasure of killing you!”
Grakath sneered. “But I can kill you!” He raised his staff and pointed it at Valdez’s shield. Valdez was caught off guard and the shield wavered.
“That does it!” cried Sir Galado, losing his temper. He pushed through the weakened shield and charged the necromancer angrily.
“No!” cried Sherman, lunging after the enraged general. He pounced and tackled the general, tripping him up. Both men sprawled to the floor, and Sherman’s sword somehow freed itself from its scabbard and skidded across the floor to the queen’s feet.
The queen bent down to pick up the weapon while Grakath prepared to send ice bolts into both exposed men.
“I should have done this long ago,” murmured the queen. With a deftness that belied her casual demeanour, she slid the blade between Grakath’s ribs.
The necromancer was unable to chant his spell, and gurgled as he slid to the floor. He looked up at the queen in surprise and wonder. “You’ve just caused your own death!” he gasped. “Why?”
The queen’s legs trembled as the magic binding her to life began to fail. She slid to the floor beside her advisor. “I am tired of this kind of existence,” she whispered. “Seeing my children all grown up makes me wish I was there for them when they needed me. My own beauty and longevity are only a personal whim. It was a selfish act for me to allow you to do what you did. I make the sacrifice now, knowing death is the consequence. No true leader should neglect their nation and family to pursue their own goals.”
Grakath merely shook his head. He didn’t understand any of this. He had lived to pursue his personal goals in life; he didn’t know any other way. He looked dazedly around the room. Everyone looked at the queen with admiration and respect. All he could ever instill in anyone was awe and fear. Where did he go wrong, he wondered? As death claimed him, he realized he would never know.
Milena ran up to her mother and chanted complex healing spells in the hopes of saving her life. Tears were in her eyes. “Don’t die, mother! Please!”
The queen put a hand on Milena’s and squeezed it. She turned slowly and looked at her daughter. Her eyes were no longer dead. They were alive, but sad. “It’s no use, my child. I am too far gone. It is up to you to reign over our lands.”
Sherman and Sir Galado knelt by the queen, their own eyes filled with tears.
“My queen!” wailed Sir Galado. “I have failed you.”
“On the contrary,” said the queen. “You have served me well. I chose you as my replacement Guardian because you are the one who impressed me most. Your skill and bravery are unmatched.”
The queen looked at Sherman. “Watch over your sister well. Temptation and danger lie in wait around each corner. You are the new Guardian. You are expected to do what is right.”
Sherman nodded silently.
“Goodbye, my children,” continued the queen. “I gained only one thing with my falsely sustained life. I have lived long enough to see you before I die. May you reign strong and supreme.”
“All this will pass, as if in a bad dream,” murmured Kazin quietly, finishing the words from the Book of Prophesy.
The queen closed her eyes and passed away quietly, peace finally evident in her young features.
Chapter 74
S
o you’re staying behind?” asked Kazin.
“Yes,” said Valdez. “Milena and Sherman have asked me to stay on as their advisor. They don’t know anyone here very well, and thought they could trust me since you do.”
“Won’t Krendal object?” asked Kazin.
“Not really,” said Valdez. “There are several reasons I should stay. One is to advise the new queen, of course. A second is to go through the huge study of the former advisor and see what I can learn about portal magic. There is also significant reference material in the mage academy not far from here. The knowledge I compile will benefit everyone, especially the mages in the Tower of Sorcery. It’s a monumental task, but I look forward to it.”
“How will you contact Krendal in the Tower of Sorcery?” asked Kazin. “Once I’m gone, you will be effectively cut off from us—at least until you learn how to open the portal.”
“Grakath had a communication orb in his study,” said Valdez. “I suspect he was trying to spy on our communications from time to time. I’ll activate the orb later this afternoon and tell Krendal what happened. I’ll also inform him you’re on your way.”
Kazin looked at Della, who stood beside him. “Take your time, Valdez. I’m in no hurry.”
Valdez smiled in understanding. “Naturally.”
Suddenly Frosty came trotting up to them.
“There you are!” exclaimed Kazin. “Where were you? I haven’t seen you since yesterday when we entered the assembly hall. You missed all the action!”
“Sorry, Kazin,” said Frosty. “I remembered that Grakath had a mage academy set up to train new recruits. I sensed its dark magic as soon as I entered the city. While you kept the necromancer occupied, I went to destroy some of the more dangerous items such as the skull staves, and hordes of those smoky rings. After all, it wouldn’t do to have those items get into the wrong hands.”
“It took you that long to do that?” asked Kazin.
“Yes,” answered Frosty. “I had to threaten the mages still learning there to surrender their rings and staves. Imagine their surprise when they tried to cast spells on me but couldn’t! You should have been there! The reason I’ve only now finished is that I had to track down many of the mages in their homes and take away their magical toys if they had any. Let me tell you it was no simple task!”
“Milena already has plans for the mages,” interrupted Valdez. “She is turning the academy into a grey and white magic academy. The mages who are there now are mostly former grey mages from the Tower of the Sky, along with a few failed black mages who disappeared after finding out about their tests. Others include locals and barbarians with very little aptitude with magic. None of them will be able to go beyond grey magic, since they’ve already tampered with both black and white magic. Milena also hopes to attract and train new recruits in white magic, with a little druid magic mixed in. They will not only heal people, but they will also be trained to heal the land so that it will produce food for all, attracting remnants of the barbarians out of the mountains to establish neighbouring communities.”
“That’s brilliant!” exclaimed Della.
“It was actually partly my idea,” admitted Valdez, “but the nobles don’t know that. It will help Milena if they think she is smart and capable, as we already know.”
“Good idea,” said Kazin. He turned to Frosty. “Well, Frosty? Are you ready to go home?”
“Sure,” snorted Frosty. “I work all night and you want to travel right away!” He nudged Kazin with his wet nose. “Get on. It’s a long way back. You’re just lucky that I hardly need any sleep.”
“Did you say goodbye to Milena and Sherman?” asked Kazin.
“Yeah,” said Frosty. “Now get on! Time’s a-wasting!”
Valdez strapped a pack containing Jarad’s shield onto the unicorn’s back. “Don’t forget to drop this off at the tower,” reminded the arch mage.
“O.K.,” said Kazin. He climbed onto Frosty’s back. Della, without asking, threw herself on behind him.
Frosty snorted and looked back in dismay. “There are plenty of horses available, you know.”
“I know,” said the elf lightly.
Frosty sighed and bounded off with magical speed.
Kazin and Della waved to Valdez as they disappeared over a nearby hill.
That afternoon they stopped for a break and a bite to eat.
“Where are we going first?” asked Della. She was seated beneath a small grove of trees.
“Krendal can wait,” said Kazin, seating himself next to the elf. “I think I’ll go home first. My folks might need some help rebuilding. After that I was hoping to go on a short vacation.”
“Where?” asked Della.
“I was kind of thinking of revisiting the elven realm,” said Kazin. “But I don’t know if your king would allow a human to—.”
“I can fix that,” cut in Della, as an idea suddenly occurred to her. She pulled a note out of her pocket and unfolded it. “Remember this? It’s the writ from the king. I haven’t been able to think of anything to use it for until now. I can use it to gain you access into our realm. The king might even allow you to live in our realm,” added the elf slowly. Her eyes locked on the mage’s.
Kazin smiled. “In that case, we can celebrate!”
“Celebrate what?” asked Della.
Kazin reached into one of his many robe pockets and withdrew a ring. “Usually, if a human man wishes to marry someone, he offers the girl a ring as a commitment to fulfil that promise. This is for you.”
Della looked at the mage and accepted the ring. Her eyes shone. “Wait until I tell father!” she exclaimed. She slid the ring onto her finger—and disappeared.
“Oops!” said Kazin anxiously. “I—I think I gave you Sherman’s invisibility ring by mistake! That means he has your ring and—oh, no!”
Della laughed and embraced the mage. “I love you, Kazin!”
Kazin didn’t resist as he felt the invisible elf’s lips touch his own.
Nearby, Frosty the unicorn snorted and rolled his eyes. “Why me?” he lamented.
The dragon lives, the dragon dies,
the hordes of darkness then shall rise.
Graf smiled wickedly as he read the last lines of a page from the Book of Prophesy that was stolen from the Tower of Hope. So Grakath was now dead? Good! The humans no doubt thought that the war was over. They had plenty of rebuilding to do. That gave him precious time to prepare. Hordes of darkness? They had no idea!
The lizardmage chuckled evilly as he prepared to enter a cave high in the Spike Ridge Mountains. His first job was to seize power among his own people. The task would be relatively easy since he had recently found an object that gave him greater power than before. It was in the dwarven treasury and the dwarves had no idea what it was capable of. Having frequent access to the vault while he controlled the dwarven king had made his theft of the artifact easy. Now the object was stored atop his staff. He glanced at the orb as it shone in the moonlight. Once he was in power, he would proceed to make plans to destroy the humans for good. They had foiled the necromancer’s plans, but next time they would be up against someone more cunning. They would have to face something far more sinister than a legion of undead. Graf wanted revenge for his brother’s death. But even Farg would want him to bide his time and do it right. Even now, a plan was forming in his mind. He chuckled again as he entered the cave.
Don’t miss the next two books
in the Dragon Mage series—
Book II :
Cloak and Dagger
Book III :
Spirit Blade
Coming soon!
Carey Scheppner is a first generation Canadian who grew up in a remote Ontario community. He was an avid reader of novels since he could read, and his favourite of these was fantasy novels. As an Electronics Engineering Technician graduate, he excelled in the art of electronics. He tutored English and mathematics in college. Carey also went on to become a director of a board at a credit union and the treasurer of a church. Despite this, he still held a strong interest in fantasy novels and games. After reading a number of predictable novels, he decided to embark on writing his own fantasy novels. He wanted to ensure plenty of action and interesting characters to leave the reader thrilled with the unlimited possibilities of a fantasy world.
Carey enjoys the country lifestyle and enjoys fishing and hunting. It is a means of leaving the civilized world behind to breathe in the freshness of the country air. This leads to an unleashing of the imagination and the creation of strange new worlds…