A
braham’s heart thumped inside his chest. If ever there was a time to jump back home, that time had come. The king was going to execute him, and the queen couldn’t bail him out this time either. She was going to be executed too.
He glared at the smug expressions on Lewis and Leodor. “Boy, the seed of evil must run deep in you.”
“That will be enough out of you,” King Hector said as he lifted his arm in the air. “Guardians, lift your swords and prepare to strike.”
Clarann’s shoulders trembled beside his.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her.
“It’s not your fault,” she said. “It’s mine. I should have always been truthful.”
The King’s Guardians’ swords scraped out of their scabbards. The blades caught the sunlight as they were lifted over the Henchmen’s heads.
Abraham swallowed. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to explain all that the king was facing. He hadn’t warned him about the stones, and he’d never see Mandi again either. He kept his head up.
“It’s over,” Lewis scoffed.
Abraham started to say, “It ain’t over until it’s over,” but he knew it was. The king had him dead to rights.
An earsplitting shriek that shook bones sounded off in the sky above.
Everyone’s heads turned upward.
Simon the Fenix made a slow spiral in the air a couple of hundred feet above.
“It’s a sign from the Elders,” Melris the Elderling said to the king. “Remember what they said: ‘The Spawn of the Elders will heed the call of the one that saves the land.’”
King Hector blinked as though a part of him that had long been dormant had awakened. His arm slowly dropped, and he said, “Guardians, sheathe your weapons.”
“Father, what are you doing?” Lewis demanded.
The king’s eyes burned like green wildfires, and he said, “I will have the truth!” He spread his fingers out.
Lewis and Leodor were lifted a foot off the ground as their bodies arched backward.
“Who do you serve?”
“Father, nooo!” Lewis cried out. He shook and convulsed as if his soul was being wrenched from his body.
“Your wicked heart is exposed!” King Hector said. “I have seen the truth! The truth has set me—”
Raschel sneaked up behind the king, snatched the Dagger of Death from his scabbard, and stabbed him in the belly.
King Hector threw his arms wide, staggered, and fell down.
“Nooo!” the queen and princess screamed. They ran to the king’s aid. Melris knelt beside them.
Prince Lewis landed on his feet and quickly regained his composure. Seeing his dead father on the ground, he climbed onto his horse and said, “I am the king now! Follow my orders! Kill the Henchmen!” He pointed at Raschel. “Bring me that assassin! But kill the Henchmen!”
Loud explosions echoed through the valley, coming from the mountains in the Spine: Boooom! Booooom! Booooom!
Groups of the king’s soldiers were blasted off their feet.
The tank gunfire kept coming. The deadly shells came down.
Prince Lewis’s face drew up with shock. A split second later, he was ripped from the saddle by a tank shell.
“The king is down!” the Guardian behind Abraham cried out. “The prince is down as well!”
“Who is in charge now?” asked the Guardian behind Horace amidst the explosions.
“I am,” Leodor called out. “As the king’s viceroy—”
“The queen is in charge now!” Horace belted out. “Every Guardian should know that!”
“No, I am!” Leodor said.
Princess Clarice stood up and kicked him in the gut. “Shut up, you old fool!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Abraham caught Raschel sneaking up behind Queen Clarann, her dagger poised to strike. He came to his feet and dashed toward the assassin. “Move! Clarann, move!”
Clarann turned just in time to see the assassin’s dagger coming down.
Sticks dove into Raschel and grabbed her wrist in both hands. The pair wrestled over the ground.
Abraham tried to free his hands. He twisted his strong hands free from the knots.
Raschel flipped on top of Sticks and punched the dagger down.
Abraham caught the woman’s quick hands just in time to save Sticks from being gored. He wrenched the dagger free.
Sticks took the Dagger of Death out of his hands and jabbed it into Raschel’s chest. “Remember me!”
Raschel let out an abrupt croak. Her body spasmed. Her face turned from that of Leah to the face of the dusky beauty Raschel, and she died.
“Thanks,” Sticks said as she tucked the dagger into her belt. “Time to get out of this armor.” She started stripping it off.
The tank fire continued to erupt all around them.
“Captain, what do we do? We need a leader, or we are doomed.” Horace said.
Queen Clarann clung to King Hector. She rocked him in her arms with tears streaming down her face. “He was a sweet man. Honest. This foul crown corrupted him.”
“Your Highness, you must make a decision,” Abraham said. “Your soldiers are being slaughtered.”
“Certainly.” With plenty of witnesses among the Guardians and the Henchmen, Queen Clarann said, “I declare Ruger Slade is the full-fledged Guardian Commander.” She eyed him. “End this madness. Save Titanuus.”
He nodded at her, turned his back, and said to the Guardians, “Cut the Henchmen loose. Get on your horses.” He slapped his hand on Horace’s back. “Get them organized. We have to get away from those tanks.”
From the high peaks of the Spine’s jagged hills, a small wave of ten zillon dragon riders flew over the army. They soared over one hundred feet in the air and dropped small objects from their saddles.
“What are they doing?” Sticks asked.
The objects plummeted to the ground and exploded among the troops.
“Holy sheetrock! They’re dropping hand grenades!” Abraham said. “Crap, I need to get up there. He waved his hands, searching for Simon, but he saw no sign of the Fenix. He caught the dragon riders’ eyes and stopped waving. “Oops, that was a bad idea. Incoming! Incoming!” He dove to the ground and covered his head.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground exploded. Bodies went flying. Soldiers started dying. Abandoned horses bolted.
The King’s Army was being bombarded.
