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We made good time traveling by day, flying low enough for men to recognize the serpents but not close enough for the riders to be identified. The Faxtinian Coalition was truly in ruin. I recalled fleeing across it, chased by hound and ogre, seeing burned villages and battlefield carnage. The Necromancer King’s forces destroyed all they could before fleeing north and east. Hardly a town or farm had emerged unscathed by the hand of war.
Major Jadd commented that walls and fortifications were being rebuilt before homes. They knew war was coming. I’d some experience of war, but even Lilly’s untrained eyes could tell they weren’t ready. Ragged lines of men, many maimed or crippled, toiled alongside women and children, and a few of the gray-haired elderly that had managed to survive. At least some would stand and fight, and crumble before Fendra Jolain’s Long-Tooths and mercenaries and beasts of war.
Captain Bray’s Flint Spitter and Major Jadd’s Flame Lance traded taking point in our V formation every few hours. As we approached the channel that divided the lands of the Faxtinian Coalition from the Reunited Kingdom, Major Jadd took over the lead. Grand Wizard Seelain on Moon Ash drafted behind on Jadd’s right with me trailing her on Wick. Private Zunnert flew his wyvern named Coils on the left, trailing Captain Bray.
Lilly always appeared alert, diligently searching the sky for danger. Sergeant Drux did the same, but in a more relaxed and methodical manner. Zunnert and I, the wyvern scouts, kept a watch below, occasionally tipping wings left and right as best we could manage while keeping pace with the stronger dragons. The Necromancer King’s Stukas, along with his frost-breathing white dragons, had been driven from the skies before mid-winter had set in. Our main concern was griffins—advance scouts of the armies on the march.
The channel had some fishing boats along the Faxtinian shore and even a two-masted merchant ship sailing through it. About midway across we spotted a smoke-belching, steam-driven Crusader ship on patrol. The men on deck pointed up at us. One near the rear paddle wheel that drove the vessel waved. None others did.
Closer to the Reunited Kingdom shore there were small fishing boats, some with sails and others with oars. There were a few large ships the size of a two-masted galley dragging huge nets through the water. These ships used steam-driven machinery to haul in the nets filled with fish. I imagined in the wider ocean they’d have larger ships. Steel-clad ones that could resist Uplersh’s serpents as Crusader sailors were certain not to pay tribute to the Goddess of the Sea.
Diplomat Grimsby shouted instructions to Major Jadd. He turned Flame Lance slightly toward the north and flew until we reached the coast. We followed the rocky shoreline northward, flying past small villages, some laid out in an orderly manner, others arranged like toadstools sprouting from a rotting tree stump. Each had at least one building topped with a cross. Occasionally I spotted isolated cottages and even a few small mansions not far from the rocky beaches, and every settlement had piers from which to land and launch vessels.
And everywhere along the coast our serpents drew attention. Some below pointed fingers. Others warily pointed muzzle-loading rifles much like Roos had carried. Maybe they hunted a lot, I thought. Or maybe the Necromancer King’s annual crop raids and his invasion hadn’t been limited to the Faxtinian Coalition, Doran Confederacy, the Lesser Kingdoms and Keesee. Or they worried about local raiders and bandits.
Diplomat Grimsby shouted and signaled to Major Jadd a few seconds before I spotted the estuary. I was too busy watching as we passed over a steamship towing two barges a quarter mile from shore, one filled with logs and the second with crates. I waved back to one of the crew that initiated the gesture. Another sailor sent an elbow to the waving man’s ribs.
We swung inland for about a mile before turning back toward the river. After a minute or two of flight we approached a large estate with a central mansion surrounded by orchards, barns, livestock pens, and a few cottages. The farmstead didn’t appear all that different from plantations lords owned in the Doran Confederacy.
The sight of our dragons sent the cattle and sheep into a panic. We flew over a hillock away from the farm and Major Jadd landed in a meadow while we circled above. After Diplomat Grimsby climbed down Captain Bray brought Flint Spitter to ground. Lilly and Sergeant Drux scouted the meadow and signaled it was safe for Grand Wizard Seelain to land. Private Zunnert and I followed her down.
The diplomat directed us to tether our wyverns while Jadd and Bray forced their mounts to lie flat with their necks and heads resting on the meadow grass. It was a serpent’s submissive position, but even then they looked intimidating. I knew what damage a Crusader’s rifle could do, but it’d take a rifle company’s volley to bring a dragon down. Or an expert shot through the eye and into the brain.
With my spear in hand I stood between Grand Wizard Seelain and Lesser Seer Jonas. She clutched her staff tightly, and he quietly shifted his weight from foot to foot.
Major Jadd noticed the spellcasters’ discomfort as well. “They’ll send someone along shortly,” he commented while resting a hand on Flame Lance’s scaly muzzle.
Diplomat Grimsby scrunched up her nose and said, “Your input is appreciated, Major, but when a farm representative arrives, let me do the talking.”
“If he is on the property,” said Jadd, “the owner will come himself.”
“If you know so much, why did our prince send me?”
Jadd was about to replay when Grand Wizard Seelain sent him a hard stare. He nodded and went about inspecting Flame Lance, dragging his hand along the serpent’s body to let the beast know where he was. I had to do much the same when working with Wick, to avoid getting accidentally knocked to the ground or tail whipped.
Enchanter Jonas leaned close to me and whispered, “I’d say Jadd must be at his limit with Grimsby’s self-important attitude.”
I nodded, observing the apple orchard in the general direction of the mansion.
Wizard Seelain said, “Wait here, Flank Hawk,” before walking up to the diplomat.
Enchanter Jonas leaned close again. “I wager that upon completing their part of our mission, Jadd will ride every bit of turbulence available on the way back to Keesee. Keep Grimsby busy focusing on controlling her stomach as opposed to pontificating on subtleties of language and etiquette.”
“She doesn’t seem that bad to me,” I whispered back. The enchanter looked a little pale. “Are you okay?”
His reply ignored my question. “Corporal Drux mentioned that the friendly diplomat relayed the same lecture on customs and social etiquette with respect to inhabitants of the Reunited Kingdom into the major’s ear several times each day while aloft on Flame Lance.”
All I could say was, “Oh.” I’d been so busy seeing to Wizard Seelain’s needs, and caring for both Wick and Moon Ash, and taking my turn on guard duty that I hadn’t noticed. And Jadd hadn’t said anything to me. I glanced over at Lilly, standing by the wyverns with Private Zunnert, and wondered if Lilly knew.
“I don’t know if it’s the land, or the people,” said Enchanter Jonas, straightening his leather jacket and adjusting his rapier, “but I believe the grand wizard is feeling it too.”
“What?” I asked.
“It isn’t much, but noticeable. Probably less so to her. She draws her power from the elements.”
I looked from the enchanter to Wizard Seelain whispering to Diplomat Grimsby. “Weakening your magic, and hers?” I asked.
“Not weakening it, I don’t think. Just harder to feel. How shall I explain it?” He looked up and rubbed his chin. “Like trying to touch, or feel something, but now through a silk glove.”
I’d never worn a silk glove but got what he meant. It might not be the same, but the more I fought and practiced mercenary skills, the less aligned I felt with the energies that I drew upon to heal. “Let me know if it gets worse,” I said, thinking Grand Wizard Seelain might not let me know if her spell abilities weakened. Her being more vulnerable meant I’d have to be doubly aware and cautious on her behalf.
I nodded to Lilly, and she caught my meaning. She knelt next to Wick. Like Moon Ash, his color was gray with mottled spots of brown. She reassured him with a rhythmic patting on his neck. I said to Enchanter Jonas, “Maybe you’d better say something to Zunnert.”
When he moved to do so, I approached the diplomat and Grand Wizard Seelain. I ignored Grimsby’s disapproving frown and stood ready ten feet away. The diplomat had warned against me carrying my crossbow. It’d look excessively hostile, and that seemed reasonable when I thought Wizard Seelain could enact her magic. Crusaders were immune to magic, but not to indirect effects of it. If she destroyed the air around a Crusader, he’d still suffer the concussive impact when surrounding air raced in to fill the emptiness.
After several more minutes of waiting, three horsemen and what looked like a two-wheeled cart approached through the apple orchard that covered and extended fifty yards beyond the nearby hillock, and stood between us and the farmstead’s stables and mansion.
The horses were tall, sandy-colored, and well trained to approach dragons. The spotted mule pulling the cart didn’t flinch either, and that impressed me. When they reached the meadow’s edge, the three horsemen dismounted. One hurried to take the horses’ reins and led them back a dozen yards. The cart’s rider reached awkwardly across his body to set the brake and lifted a crutch before stepping off and to the ground. He wore a black eye patch and a straw hat with a brown feather, but what stuck out the most was his missing right leg above the knee and left arm above the elbow.
All were dressed in dark trousers tucked in their high black boots and wore black suspenders over their black and blue plaid shirts. I didn’t know if the colors were significant. The eldest man with a short gray beard and wearing wire-framed glasses whispered something to the stocky red-haired man next to him while they waited for one-legged man, who appeared to be the youngest of the three. Each wore a holster holding what I guessed to be cap and ball revolvers.
The older Crusader smiled and said in the Mainland tongue, “I welcome thee to the Reunited Kingdom. I am Luke Cromwell. How might I be of service to thee?”
His accent and mannerisms reminded me of Roos.
Diplomat Grimsby bowed slightly and responded in the tongue of the Reunited Kingdom. I didn’t know what she said, other than when she gestured to Grand Wizard Seelain and gave her name and title.
Although I didn’t anticipate any trouble, I stood ready as the three men stepped forward, the older man extending his right hand. Grand Wizard Seelain shook it and they exchanged pleasantries.
“Looks like things have started off well enough,” whispered Private Zunnert. I hadn’t heard him approach.
The young Crusader leaned on his crutch and appeared to take a deep interest in Grand Wizard Seelain as he was introduced to her. I gathered his name was Thomas Cromwell, probably the older man’s son. Then Thomas’s good eye shifted to me. I met his gaze and he responded with a grin and a nod, as if he recognized me.
I studied his face. Scars radiated from beneath the eye patch around to his ear, and his grin showed several missing teeth. I guessed he was a war veteran, and lucky to have survived. I snapped my attention back to what was happening. Diplomat Grimsby had given the writ of request to Luke Cromwell.
Diplomat Grimsby and Grand Wizard Seelain continued their exchange in the Crusader tongue and came to some agreement.
Wizard Seelain turned to me and said, “Luke Cromwell, the estate owner, is an elder in this district’s council. Diplomat Grimsby and I will accompany him to his home to make arrangements for travel to New London. Flank Hawk, you will remain here.” I prepared to protest but she dismissed me with a stern glance. “Major Jadd,” she called. “You will accompany us. Captain Bray, you will be in charge.”
While I didn’t think Wizard Seelain would come to any harm, it was my responsibility to see that she didn’t. But Major Jadd would be with her. I trusted him with her safety more than anyone else.
Major Jadd must have sensed my unease. As he helped Grand Wizard Seelain onto Luke Cromwell’s horse for the ride to the mansion, he gave me a quick nod. Diplomat Grimsby mounted a horse as well. Major Jadd was offered the third horse, but declined and walked among the men who led the way.
Thomas Cromwell said something to Luke and the older man smiled and patted Thomas on the shoulder. Then, with his crutch propped under his good arm, the one-legged man walked up to me. “You remain the wizardess’s personal guard,” he said in Mainland. His pronunciation was mushy and exaggerated due to his missing teeth, but he spoke my language with hardly an accent.
“My father will see to her safety,” he continued. “As well as her fiancé’s personal guard.”
I studied the crippled man’s face once again and didn’t recognize him. I’d met only a handful of Crusaders, and had spent more than a few minutes in the company of only one. And he was dead.
Captain Bray called for Zunnert to see to the wyverns. He signaled for Enchanter Jonas to assist as well, but left me to talk with the Crusader, Thomas.
“A shrewd maneuver that my father didn’t recognize,” Thomas said with a crooked smile.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He believes the major is a dragon rider, not a personal guard.”
“He isn’t a bodyguard,” I said.
“He was, but is no more then?”
“I’ve only known one Crusader,” I said. “Paul Jedidiah Roos. But you know me, and Major Jadd?”
“I was at the First Battle of the Skydivers.” He paused. “I believe your people named it The Battle of Zeffan Fields.”
“You were there?” I asked, not wanting to fully recall that day of slaughter and death.
“My rifle company, from the First Coventry Volunteers, served as an expeditionary force to the Kingdom of Keesee. You,” he said, “and the major stood watch around the dragons at night.” He shifted his stance, leaning more on his crutch. “I witnessed you stand against the goliathan bone demon in defense of your Prince Reveron, after he abandoned his dragon and fell from the sky. My rifle company broke the hell-spawn demon and stood against the onslaught...”
Images of the battle flooded out from the dark corners in my memory...Some were stark yet imprecise images: laying in the blood of dead and dying soldiers, looking over the defensive mound at the Necromancer King’s forces regrouping, the cries of dying men and the shrill scream of diving Stukas accented by the barking chatter of machinegun bullets—their biting through armor and thudding into flesh. But what stood clear and precise was the towering bone golem’s image, a titanous evil creature lashed together with dark magic and the sinews of a thousand men, and harboring the heart of a demon within. Its hellcry shattered the morale of man and beast. It grated at my courage, its searing cry worked as if to grind my bones to dust.
Something about the Crusader before me called the moments that followed to clarity and flashes of that day filled my mind’s eye and ear...
...But I hadn’t fled. About a dozen of the Keeseean soldiers and half that many mercenaries held their ground against the bone golem’s hellcry. Every other man and horse had fled or fell to the ground, oblivious to all but the terror that gripped them.
The only thing that advanced was Wizard Golt’s earth elemental—and far behind it, the company of Crusaders marching forward with shouldered rifles bearing bayonets that sparkled in the sunlight. In the middle of their line an orange flag bearing a white cross flew and, instead of a battle cry, they voiced what sounded like a unifying hymn sung in their foreign tongue.
The golem’s long strides gave it the speed of a quarter horse. Road Toad shouted above the surrounding moans, “Prince! Retreat toward the elemental.” He hurled one of his javelins at the golem. The Algaan-blessed javelin arced toward the creature and struck it in the hip. It bounced off, leaving only a small black mark. “The Blood Sword will not avail you against this foe!”
“Agreed, Major Jadd,” said Prince Reveron, pulling Wizard Seelain back. But by then it was too late. I ran forward and stood on Road Toad’s right, interposing myself between Prince Reveron and the giant golem. Each of the bone titan’s closing steps reverberated through the ground.
“Run, Prince!” snapped Road Toad as if giving an order. “Flank Hawk, spread right. Give it two targets.”
I did, and held my spear ready. I had no intention of attacking, but instead prepared to dodge its attacks. I prayed quickly to M’Kishmael that the golem didn’t cry out again.
Road Toad and I gained a reprieve when a three hundred pound boulder crashed into the golem’s ribs. Only then did it take notice of the earth elemental. The golem looked once more at us and ducked, causing a second hurled boulder to miss. It then turned its attention to the elemental who hurled a third boulder. Like the first, the third boulder struck with devastating force. The golem staggered back as some of its bones cracked under the impact.
The earth elemental, an ogre-sized creature of packed earth and stone, wrenched free a wrecked panzer’s cannon muzzle. The bone golem let loose with another hellcry before the two clashed in a flurry of blows.
The force of the second hellcry staggered me, but I steadied myself. The bone golem dwarfed the earth elemental. “Wizard Golt’s creature can’t win,” I said to Road Toad.
He put a hand on my shoulder. “No, it won’t. We must act.” We looked around. The prince struggled to sheath his weapon.
“The Blood Sword is feeding upon it,” Prince Reveron said. He finally succeeded and, with the power of the Blood Sword stifled, I felt a fraction of the battlefield’s dread lift. “We must reach the Crusaders,” said the prince. “Seelain,” he called to the wizard who’d retreated twenty yards. “This way.”
“No, the battle is almost over.” She ran toward a horse that fought madly against its bridle tangled in a dead ogre’s grasp.
She was right. The earth elemental had shattered one of the bone golem’s four arms. But it had lost one of its own in the process. Two deep gashes marked where an iron scimitar had cleaved deeply into its earthen body.
In a desperate bid, the elemental hurled the cannon muzzle at the golem and dove for one of its pillar-like legs. Grasping the leg with its remaining arm, the elemental began sinking into the ground, pulling the leg with it. The golem rained down scimitar blows, shredding any cohesive remains of its foe.
The prince retrieved the wizard. “Won’t take it long to free its leg.”
“Goaff,” called the bone golem in a hollow, unearthly voice. It strained to free its buried foot. “Shez-an dub nye-ee!” It pointed one of its scimitars at the prince.
“Friend Prince, we shalt take the demon down!” shouted a distant voice. One hundred yards from the bone golem, the Crusaders had formed into two rows. The front knelt while the rear stood. Swinging downward with his saber and shouting in his native tongue, the Crusader captain ordered his men to open up. Gunfire crackled and smoke billowed from the front rank’s rifles. Flashes of gold light marked where the bullets struck the golem. Shards and bits of bone flew away.
The Crusader soldiers sang on, their words dampening the evil emanating from the bone golem. Their captain signaled and shouted again and the rear rank fired. Again, flashes marked a dozen impacts, staggering the golem. I realized they must be using saint-blessed weapons.
The golem cried out, “Aff, neecha o ga grullta haw!”
The once cowering goblins climbed to their feet and the nearby ogres responded to the golem’s call with bellows echoing their newfound boldness. The bone golem hurled one of its iron scimitars at the Crusader formation, but it fell short.
The eighteen mercenaries and soldiers joined Road Toad and me as we surrounded the prince and ran towards the Crusaders and our distant defensive line beyond.
The Crusader captain shouted to his men. They fired and this time the united blast nearly toppled the bone golem.
I found Pops Weasel next to me at the rear with the other mercenaries. He was limping. “That demon spawn just said it’d eat any that didn’t rise to kill the prince.”
“The Crusaders will take care of it,” I said.
“But who’ll take care of them?” he gestured with his sword. Already a growing mob of goblins backed by ogres was closing on our heels.
The bone golem, tattered and nearly broken, let out a grumbling howl and a sulfurous wall of flames leapt up from the ground. It stood between us and the Crusaders.
“The flames will endure until the Crusaders slay the demon-beast,” called the prince. He drew the Blood Sword. “Turn about and hold until then.”
Pops Weasel readied his sword as I did my spear. “That’s one powerful demon to stand to them Crusader guns,” he said, watching the enemy close.
“Forward to meet them,” ordered the prince, “or they’ll drive us into the flames.” He led the charge with red sword held high. I hoped its emanating dread fell upon the goblins. Road Toad was on the prince’s left and I shouldered my way to his right. Wizard Seelain was among us, shouting such encouragement that frothing spit flew from her lips. It was our twenty against a hundred. Even if help came, the enemy from the woods would still overwhelm us.
I ran the first goblin through, nearly losing my spear to its momentum. Pops took out another of the yellow-skinned enemy before it could stab me. Seelain wielded her staff, cracking skulls and blocking spear and dagger thrusts. Cries of agony arose around the prince. Whenever the red sword found its mark a goblin fell back. Soon after, blood oozed from the wounded’s nose, mouth, ears and eyes. They fell to the ground with red splotches signaling massive hemorrhaging beneath their skin. Then the ogres crashed among us. A broad, squat one charged directly at Wizard Seelain. Fearless, she stood ready. I leapt in from the side and set the butt of my spear to the ground. Before the ogre could react I guided the stout tip into the brute’s groin. It penetrated the chain-mesh armor skirt and drove deep. I let go and rolled to the side as the spear shaft snapped under the force.
I didn’t look back to see what had happened. I drew my sword before a pair of spear-wielding goblins were on me. My sword skills were moderate at best and not up to two foes. I gave ground to their stabs and thrusts. A third joined them.
A blue-robed figure leapt to my aid, knocking aside a spear and smashing the goblin between its slanted eyes. Seelain spun around and caught another across the helmet, ringing its skull. Her distraction allowed me to get past the third goblin’s guard. I sheared away the fingers on its left hand as it hastily parried. Seelain caught the maimed goblin in the throat and it stumbled back, gagging for air.
Seelain said before turning, “Flank Hawk, the fire has dropped.”
We broke from the enemy and gained an initial lead. Road Toad was in the front with Prince Reveron. Seelain was faster than me and strove to catch up with them. Only eight of us remained. I caught up with Pops Weasel who was limping badly.
“Pops,” I said, slowing to his pace.
“I’m done fer,” he said and pushed me away. “Good knowin’ ya. Save the prince.” Wiping a sleeve across his nose, he stopped and spun with sword ready.
“Krish!” shouted Road Toad, “We ward the prince!”
“I’ll remember you, Pops!” I said before abandoning him. Pops Weasel shouted a string of curses against the shrill goblin calls before falling silent. Deep down I was thankful he fell instead of me. That thought hurt. I didn’t look back.
We made it to the Crusaders and circled behind their lines. They’d rallied around their flag bearer, still singing as they fired and reloaded. The prince and Wizard Seelain flinched but the Crusader’s words poured a vibrating warmth across my skin. The Crusader captain continued using voice and saber motions to direct his men, and they cut down the ogres pursuing us. Their gunfire rang my ears nearly as much as a panzer’s cannon.
Road Toad grabbed my shoulder and shouted into my ear, “The prince assigned Wizard Seelain’s safety to you. We go.”
Short Two Blades blocked my path. Blood ran from a gash under his left eye. He stuffed his talisman into my dangling salt pouch. “My debt and honor endures,” he said before pushing me toward the prince and Wizard Seelain who’d already broken into a sprint for the mound.
The sound of hand-to-hand combat rose behind me. The Crusader song faltered, men called warnings, threats, and cries of pain. Goblins and ogres did the same.
We’d escaped. And the Crusaders’ sacrifice enabled it...
Recalling the hellcry had sent me into a cold sweat normally brought on through its echoes in my nightmares. “You were in that Crusader company,” I said, my voice sounding distant as I pushed the images aside.
He nodded once. “I think upon that battle every day.” He gazed up at the sky. “I am sorry that I reminded you of it. An unnecessary cruelty which I should have thought better upon.”
“You survived? How could anyone have?”
He shrugged. “Lesser imps took me down with their swords. Maimed as I was, they left me for dead. I tied tourniquets, pushed the bodies of dead friends aside as night fell and crawled to friendly lines. Not before a death rot set in.” He lifted the stump of his right arm. “You see the result.”
“I am sorry,” I said, working to hold back tears. I looked away, unable to meet his remaining eye. Like Pops Weasel and Short Two Blades, I’d abandoned this Crusader to death as I fled.
“Sorry about what? That you survived?”
“That you stayed and fought,” I said, shuffling my foot over the meadow grass.
“And you didn’t?” He stepped closer and rested his hand on my shoulder. “The Lord’s plan for you. And for me.”
“What?” I asked. “What plan?”
“You’re Flank Hawk, the mercenary that delivered the bomb which turned the war’s tide. That was in the Lord’s plan.” When I met his single-eyed gaze, he explained. “I am only recently returned from your lands to my home. I recalled your face from that day of battle, and learned your name moments ago.”
“Oh,” I said, regaining my composure.
Thomas asked, “The demon’s cry haunts you, the same as me?”
“It does.” I wondered if it haunted Major Jadd, or Grand Wizard Seelain. Or even the prince. “But you and your company brought it down.”
“We did,” he said with pride. “You stood to it too. We all played a part.”
He looked past me. “The girl with the gray aura. That’s the scout, Lilly, who accompanied you?”
I nodded. “Roos, a Crusader saw it upon her too. Can all Crusaders?”
“Some will be able to, but not all.”
“Will it be a problem?”
“I haven’t recovered my stamina,” he said, turning toward his mule and cart.
I walked next to him. “She’s not a werewolf like the minstrel tales claim.”
“No, she’s not black.”
He made it to his mule and leaned on the sturdy beast. I walked around him and waited while he caught his breath and then took his crutch before helping him onto cart’s padded bench seat.
“Your party,” Thomas said. “You’re seeking to retrieve the Blood Sword?”
I handed him his crutch. “Why would you say that?”
“Just a hunch.” He smiled his crooked smile. “I know it’s not your place to say or deny, even if you know. But, if you are, many of my folk will not be anxious to have that evil weapon returned to the continent.”
“Despite being allies, there are many things our peoples do not agree upon.”
“That is true,” he said. “Is that blue jacket your scout friend wears, that of your fallen friend, Paul Roos?”
I followed his gaze to Lilly who was watching us while talking to Enchanter Jonas. “It is.”
“His sister visited me shortly after my return home,” Thomas said. “I told her what I knew of her brother, Paul’s death. I am sure she’d like to know more.” He took up the reins to his mule. “She is a nun at the convent in New London.”