Chapter 20 #2
I landed on the broad avenue that swept from the docks to the castle, skidding to a halt on the cobblestones, and instantly shifted my feet, bracing for a fight as I tightened my grip on my sword.
Was it Ereborne?
It was not soldiers on the cobbled road.
It was a lone male.
One who radiated darkness and malevolence.
The onyx-haired male dressed head to toe in black stalked the streets of my court like a dark wraith, snaring my terrified people and dragging them to him, snarling in their faces.
“There is a dragon here.” He held a female by her throat, short black claws pressing into her skin to draw blood as he held her close to him, towering over her.
She desperately shook her head as much as she could without cutting her own throat, her brow furrowing and eyes filling with tears.
“There is a dragon here,” he growled again, apparently not satisfied with her answer. “A dragon in possession of a rare treasure.”
An’sidwain.
Ice trickled down my spine as I recalled Neve leaving her home the day I had brought Saphira back from the Wastes, driven from it by her vision of Saphira being hurt. She had readied everyone for our return, had most likely saved Saphira’s life with her actions, but she had exposed herself too.
I stared at the back of the male as he squeezed the female’s throat.
This was the one hunting Neve.
He cast the female aside, sending her tumbling across the cobblestones, and turned on the gathered crowd.
They reared back as one, their fear tangible as they gasped and tried to escape his wrath, pushing and shoving at one another.
One female was brave enough to race for the female he had discarded, attempting to get her away from the male.
Fool.
The warrior backhanded her, sending her sprawling on the cobblestones, and then bent over her, gripping her throat as he pinned her to the ground and raised his hand, talons flashing in the low light as he made ready to strike.
“If you do not mind, I would rather you did not do that,” I drawled.
His bright violet eyes swung my way, his hand still raised and claws still poised.
Those glowing eyes flickered over me, charting all of me. Sizing me up.
I could not fight the male without endangering my people.
Too many were crowded into the area, the sheer number of them making it impossible for them to escape quickly.
The side streets in this area of town were little more than alleys, narrow enough that passing people required brushing shoulders or flattening against the wall.
The avenue itself had been blocked in places by carts that must have been abandoned when the first screams had rung out.
I did not want to look in the direction of the docks behind me.
I could smell the coppery tang of blood.
Experience told me what I would see.
Losing my temper would not do my people any good either.
“I suggest you release the female,” I flexed my obsidian-tipped fingers around the grip of my sword, flashing my own claws. Talons I would gladly use to cut this male down, “and then we can discuss this matter that has you wreaking havoc.”
Shadows pooled in the cracks between the cobblestones and slithered down the walls in the alleyways, puddling there, waiting for my command.
If it came to a fight, I would need to act swiftly to cast a barrier that would protect my court and my people, but I could not guarantee some would not be trapped within it.
The male’s violet eyes swung towards the female as she wildly clawed at his hand, trying to remove it from her throat, and kicked at him with her booted feet. One of them connected hard with his shin.
His claws twitched, hand moving an inch, as his eyes narrowed on her and he bared fangs.
“I would not do that.” I stepped forwards, drawing the shadows with me, savouring the feel of them as they rose up my legs and twined around my arms.
The male’s head snapped towards me.
Cataloguing those shadows.
“You will not find what you seek here, and these people know nothing about what you speak of so they cannot be of help to you, but I can.” I looked to my left and then my right, silently commanding the people there to leave as quickly as they could.
Several of them were injured, bearing claw marks from this male.
He had dared to walk into my court and wreak havoc upon my people, and for that he would pay, but now was not the time.
Right now, I needed him away from this place. I needed to protect my people.
All of them.
“I was in possession of An’sidwain. That is the treasure you seek, is it not?”
He bared fangs at me. I took it as a yes.
“The stone was here, but it is gone from my court now… can you not sense that?”
He dropped the female and straightened, silent as he canted his head, as if listening for the beating heart.
And then he viciously snarled, “It was here. How did you come by it?”
“I took it from an ancient lich’s tower.”
“A lich?” His eyes flashed black and he stalked towards me, lithe body moving like the predator he was, his motions fluid but powerful, reeking of the strength I could sense in him.
No. Fighting here would be a terrible idea.
I was not sure I could beat him, and if I did not, my court would pay dearly for it.
It was better to fight with words rather than weapons.
I donned a cool mask, one that concealed my worry for my people, and stared him down.
“A lich. An ancient breed of fae who often call the woods their home, and protect the creatures of the forests. Their breed does love to meddle with the dead. Perhaps they assumed the one connected to An’sidwain was dead? ”
The male snapped his teeth at someone who strayed too close to him as they pushed to escape the area. “How do you know this?”
I inspected my claws, my tone bored. “I have my own royal necromancers, so I know the breed well.”
His dark eyebrows met hard above his glowing violet eyes. “You rule this place? You are king here?”
The blockade of people behind him began to dissipate at last, and my sister came pushing through it, Riordan and Oberon, and a contingent of guards following her.
I subtly shook my head, warning her not to intervene when she reached for her sword, worry colouring her eyes.
Oberon teleported, reappearing on a rooftop and easing into a low crouch as he watched the male.
“I am king,” I said, holding the male’s attention and keeping it away from my sister and the people as the avenue began to clear. “The stone is no longer here. Perhaps you might find more clues where I found it?”
I gestured with my sword to the jagged fang of Noainfir where it rose beyond my castle.
“Beyond those mountains lie the Forgotten Wastes. It is where I found the stone, and where I once met a dragon, many centuries ago, who told me of it and called it An’sidwain.”
He looked in that direction and then his gaze swung back to me. “Why is it no longer in your possession?”
I did not miss a beat. “Because it was stolen from me. The thief came and went so quickly there was no time to alert the guards and no trace of where they are gone, but I suspect it was the dragon I met all those years ago, and that she has returned to the Wastes with her treasure.”
He looked there again.
Screams echoed along the avenue as he suddenly shifted, transforming into a great black dragon.
He twisted and kicked off, enormous leathery wings catching the roofs of several buildings as he beat them, lifting his massive body into the air.
Slates crashed into the street, sending panicked people running in all directions.
Vyr stumbled back a step, her silver eyes wide, as shocked as everyone else, and then she looked at me, a silent question in her eyes.
Had I known what I was dealing with?
I had.
I had known the dangers.
I had known I could not anger the male or he would shift and rampage, and he could have ended up destroying all of Falkyr before I could stop him.
I tracked him as he passed the castle, thankfully giving it a wide enough berth that his wings did not clip the towers and damage them, and waited for him to disappear from view over the mountains before I breathed again.
“Oversee the clean up and make sure the injured are taken care of,” I said to Vyr and then shifted my focus to Riordan. “Bring more guards down into the city. Station them in every quarter. I do not trust that he will not return.”
“What should I do?” Oberon appeared beside me.
I had never been so grateful to see him.