08 alaska kingdom, p.15
08 Alaska Kingdom, page 15
part #8 of American Dragons Series
The douchebag knight stood there. Of course the knight was a douchebag. He served something that wanted to devour all of reality. How long would Zothora keep her appetites from destroying the knight? Probably not long. He was too stupid to know it.
“I’m curious who you are,” Steven said. “How about you give me three guesses. Then we can fight. I imagine this is all going to come down to a fight.”
“Not yet,” the knight said. “We might skirmish a bit, but no, I’ve seen the future. We face off with each other but not here. Fuck, killing you is going to be a pleasure. But sure. Let’s play your guessing game. I would assume your people are coming. Mine are too. Betcha I have more of them.”
“Good. I like killing Shaze.” Steven wasn’t lying. Every Shaze kill took away Animus but it also gave him Morta. And he was getting better and better at BlackBlood.
“The Myriad. We have more than just Shaze. But anyway. Guess away, Steven D.” The Dragonknight stood with his hands on his hips.
Shock swept through Steven. If the Dragonknight was aligned with the Zothoric, and if he’d brought the Myriad here, it meant that Aqualyra was doomed. Had he led the Dragonknight to the elven world? It seemed so. That wouldn’t make Quinnestri very happy, but it would force her hand to help them eradicate the threat.
“AnimusChain,” Steven whispered. He reached out with his senses. Animus, the Dragonknight was running on Animus, and it was keeping him alive. And yet, there was the taste of Morta on him. That black ichor leaked out of him, which was why he left tracks. He’d given his soul over to Zothora, that was clear.
“You didn’t get Icharaam’s Orb from underneath Dodge City,” Steven said. “But I think you’re from Gaia Beta.”
“What you call the Battle World?” the knight asked. “That’s not really a guess. I think you need to give me a name.”
“Living in your father’s shadow,” Steven mused. “My first guess is Bruno Illick. Mordred’s son. I know the Battle World had the Dragonknights. Maybe you are another version of him.”
“I have no idea who that is,” the knight said. “I wasn’t too good at history. You don’t really need any history when your father is king of the world.”
“King of the world.” Steven thought of Rahaab. He thought of the lineage. “Attur Dro was one of Icharaam’s sons. Mynn Lyrr was a descendant of Mathaal. Rahaab didn’t much like humans, but he did father at least one evil asshole. My second guess is Mulkred, Rahaab’s son.”
The knight waved a hand. “Wrong. Again, you know fuckloads more than me. No, it’s not like that. I’m far more current. Like current events.”
Steven’s mind raced. “Okay, before I use my last guess, I’d like to know why you joined the Zothoric. You still have Animus in you.”
The Dragonknight swept back his cloak and unhooked a double-bladed battle-ax from his belt. “I want to win. We were never going to beat the Zothoric. But if I join her, if I give her you, well, I will fucking win a fight for once.”
“Faith,” Steven said. Armor from the Baxter rings covered him. He kept his secret weapon hidden. He and Tessa had used Enchantrix to figure out the trigger word. “You have no faith.”
“Hard to have faith when you watch your world destroyed,” the Dragonknight said.
Only he wasn’t a Dragonknight. A piece of the puzzle slid into place for Steven. “You weren’t worthy. You tried to get the orb, but it needed the touch of a true knight. Even I couldn’t touch it. Neither could you.”
“I never said I was a fucking knight,” the cloaked figure said. “Like I told you, fuck history and all that Arthur and Merlin bullshit. Let me give you a hint. I’ve hooked up with the Terror Trio, or that’s what you call them. On my world, they didn’t mean shit to anyone. I’ve been calling myself Ven Dro. Does that help you with your last guess?”
The Terror Trio had worked for Rhaegen Mulk. Could this new asshole be Edgar Vale, maybe the Battle World version of him? Or could it be one of Mulk’s sons?
Steven wasn’t sure, but then, only one of the Trio, Karlos Butcher, had managed to escape the Leadville battle. Gideon Scaramanga and Kai Charon had both been killed.
While he stood thinking, a name crept into Steven’s head. Arthur Drokharis had been a king, but no, that wasn’t right. There was no way this monstrosity in front of him, a man who’d sell out whole worlds just to win, could be a Drokharis.
“Oe Uchiko,” Steven said in a loud, firm voice.
“Who in the fuck is that?” their enemy asked.
“I am the darkness.” A voice slithered through the sounds of the water gushing and splashing on the tiles.
Three arrows, one after another after another, slammed into the back of Ven Dro. The asshole in knight’s clothes whirled. Just in time to take Uchiko’s lead weight in his face.
Steven thundered, “Love!” In his hand appeared a revolver the size of a cannon. Six cylinders held the biggest bullets in the world, the 950 JDJs. They had a diameter of .95 inches fueled by half a pound of gunpowder each.
He pulled the trigger. Steven could figure out the name of this asshole after he was dead.
Chapter Twenty
VEN DRO SHRIEKED IN pain and fury before teleporting, thanks to Icharaam’s Vambraces. Steven’s round took out a chunk of wall behind him just as the false knight vanished.
He appeared next to another waterfall, where two more of Uchiko’s shafts struck him.
Ven Dro ripped them out of his belly and tossed them aside. “Your little arrows aren’t going to do shit to me. I’m basically dead, bitch. Wherever you are.”
The ninja had vanished in the darkness.
Steven fired off two more rounds. The explosions echoed through the chamber. He couldn’t let the false knight leave, not when he might know the location of the next clue to finding the Lyra.
Steven turned and bathed the basin in fire. Whatever magic was inside was triggered a second time. Like before, runes rose from the flames, but these were made of dancing water.
Nefri descended a spire near them, her BlackBlood keeping her aloft as she crawled down the surface, not unlike a spider. She vaulted off the side of the building, flipped through a waterfall, and landed on the tiles of the courtyard in front of the basin. In her hand was a phone, pink and bejeweled. That came from one of the machine-gun twins, without a doubt.
Brilliant, she was going to take pictures of the clues.
Two pink dragons, flanked by an amber one, winged their way down to the courtyard.
Steven kept on Ven Dro. He’d appear, Steven would fire at him, and the villain would teleport again.
“Magica Divinatio!” Steven thundered. He saw where the false knight would appear, next to a statue of a tall elf king with his hands outstretched. Water poured from his palms.
Ven Dro stood there.
Steven had him.
The false knight’s cloak took the brunt of the bullet. Ven Dro was knocked onto his ass.
The cowl was back, and Steven got his first look at the false knight’s ruined face. One eye gazed at him, lidless. The other was wincing in pain. His nose showed mostly cartilage. His scalp hung off his skull like a bad hat. Around the torn flesh of his head swirled a diabolic green fire, which licked at Icharaam’s Crown. Steven still hadn’t been able to figure out what that magic item did. And he couldn’t very well ask Ven Dro—too much shit was going on.
Shaze slammed down in front of the false knight, taking the last of Steven’s bullets. Every round blew them into chitinous debris. Their midnight blood painted the marble. Every death pulled Animus from Steven and added to his Morta core.
Steven thought about using HeartStrike to end Ven Dro once and for all. That would leave him helpless for a time. That wouldn’t work. Steven knew what was coming.
Nefri didn’t stop taking pictures. She was cataloging the magical clues, and Steven was glad she was there.
Quinnestri’s voice thundered around them. “Hidden in dreams, death protects those who walk in the light. As for those on the dark path, arise, and fulfill your terrible destiny.”
A snake coiled around him, an anaconda to be precise. Butcher had flown down out of nowhere to circle Steven. The snake’s skin was rough with razor-sharp edges, and he was trying to squeeze Steven, though that was laughable. The armor protected him.
“Hate,” Steven thundered. The revolver disappeared back into the armor. He flung himself forward, crushing the nightmare anaconda against the marble.
The Morphling shifted into a giant boar, armored, with razor-sharp tusks and spiked hooves.
Bullets peppered him, splashing dark ichor across the marbles. That would be Chazzie and Pru, gunning down the boar.
Ven Dro appeared next to the boar, touching him with a gauntlet. Butcher’s wounds healed. The false knight shifted into a black dragon, took three steps, and leapt into the air. Butcher had already taken off, running through the air. The big boar could fly. Okay, fine. He wasn’t that important anyway.
Steven wasn’t about to let the false knight flee, but he couldn’t chase after him right away. Demon bugs were galloping across the courtyard, coming at him hard.
Mouse landed in front of him, the Slayer Blade flashing as she hacked apart Shaze, giving him cover.
Steven flung out his claws. He focused on his rage and hate, and his Morta core responded. Smoke poured from his hands to become tentacles of BlackBlood. He encircled Ven Dro’s back leg. Steven tried to yank him out of the sky. The false knight was smart. He shifted human and teleported higher as more of Uchiko’s arrows slammed into him. He was like a pincushion, feathered shafts sticking out of him at all angles.
“We have company!” Mouse wailed. “And I’m feeling shitty!”
Steven used AnimusChain to fill Mouse’s core. He turned just in time to see armored skeletons, covered in shadows, floating in from every side of the courtyard. Their ghostly white hair hung from their skulls.
“Defensio!” Steven got his shield up just in time to protect himself from a barrage of spectral spears, arrows, and javelins.
The skeletons waded into the Shaze, ending the lives of the demons with their midnight swords.
Nefri leapt onto Steven’s back. She pounded on his scales.
Steven turned just in time to see Quinnestri’s face, made of water, dripping back down into the flames of the basin. The water hissed as it touched the fire burning there.
Ven Dro cackled from somewhere above. “I like the gun, Steven. I like all your toys. We’ll meet again.”
Three black arrows raced upward. Nefri’s aim was true.
The false knight let out a howl of pure pain. At least one of those shafts found a home in him.
Steven took off from the courtyard. Mouse carried Uchiko in her claws. Chazzie and Pru were Homo Draconi, giving them covering fire. Their guns rattled, but they weren’t firing bullets, not normal rounds anyway. Pink flashes of light broke through the bones of the flying skeletons. Those rounds were from Tessa’s magical canisters. The contained Impetim bullets were effective in blasting the undead to pieces. Bodies, armor, and weapons fell to the floor below.
Steven landed on the ledge. Ven Dro, Butcher, and the remaining Shaze had already fled up the stairs.
Steven shifted human and grabbed Samael’s Lash. In his partial form, he flew up the staircase, down the corridor below the ocean, and back into the hallways with sand sculptures on either side. When he emerged, it was dark outside.
The moonlight showed him he was alone in the island city. Ven Dro and his retinue had escaped. Yet, they’d given Steven a great deal to think about.
He rendezvoused with his Escort back at their beach camp.
Steven cast a Magica Divinatio spell. He reached out with his thoughts, searching for Ven Dro. He saw the false knight back on the plains. He’d used a portal spell to get there. Of course he did. He didn’t have to worry about the Zothoric finding him.
Steven smiled when he saw how much pain the villain was in. A gaunt figure appeared out of the water of a lake, a place Steven knew—Standley Lake, or the Aqualyra equivalent. Gideon was alive, and yet, he was a creature of Morta now, hairless, more insect than man. The Magician pulled the arrows out of the false knight, who fell, unconscious.
Gideon’s voice slithered into Steven’s mind. Ven Dro was wounded. He will have to rest. If only the Mother were here. If only we could hear her voice.
The vision faded.
Steven felt better. They had some time. He didn’t think Gideon or Butcher would try and find the next clue alone.
Now, they had to figure some things out.
Nefri held up the pink phone triumphantly.
Mouse grimaced and laughed. “A dark elf with a cell phone. Now I’ve seen it all. Did you get a good signal down there, blue butt?”
Nefri squinted, smiled, and shook her head sheepishly.
“Now, now,” Chazzie said. “Let’s keep the kidding to a minimum. I’m dying to figure out what all went down there.”
Steven told them of the guessing game he’d played with Ven Dro.
Pru sighed. “Well, the truth is, he could be anyone. But he’s certainly from the Battle World. And he sold out his entire planet. Fuck me.”
Nefri brightened at those last two words.
Chazzie took over. “Zothora just loves the taste of dragon meat. If she kept him alive, she has a reason.”
Mouse frowned. “And not just because the bug bitch loves his creamy Animus. He’s like a Twinkie, after all. Only with a lot less sponge cake.”
For the first time, the twins didn’t chide her for jumping into their scheming.
“It’s certainly obvious,” Pru said. “You see, Ven Dro was able to go down there, get the clue, and he wasn’t attacked by the undead elves. It’s probably because they didn’t sense he was a Morta creature. We have Steven and Nefri, who are more like cupcakes full of creamy Morta. So when we got the clue, the undead came running.”
“Having a Dragonknight would certainly help the bug bitch,” Chazzie agreed. “Killing the bastard isn’t going to be easy. He has Icharaam’s goodies. And he’s already dead.”
Steven thought of the crown he kept in his gear. He didn’t want to wear it all the time. He wasn’t a princess, or a prince, for that matter. So far, Enchantrix hadn’t helped him unlock the mystery of the item.
“Are you going to say it?” Mouse asked Pru.
The Texan curled up her nose. “What now?”
Mouse gave her a bored look. “Where’s Tessa when we need her? The line goes, ‘How do you kill something that is already dead?’”
“It’s a good question,” Steven said before Pru could hurl an insult. “Gideon is alive again. I saw him in a vision. He’s back on the plains, near Standley Lake, near a Cruxis.”
Nefri let out a moan.
The twins exchanged glances.
Pru spoke first. “Well, that certainly makes things more complicated. I was just getting used to Aqualyra. It won’t be long until it’s wiped clean of Animus. Those Shaze multiply faster than rabbits on Viagra.”
“It’s not all bad news,” Steven said. “They’re cut off from Zothora. As far as we know, she doesn’t know Aqualyra is still alive. I think the magic the elves used to hide their world is powerful. I hope it is.”
Nefri waved the phone.
“Yeah, let’s take a gander at the clues,” Chazzie said.
Steven used Divination to connect to Nefri.
They gathered around the phone.
I should’ve taken video, Nefri sent. But the technology is new. I am not good at it.
It’s okay, Steven assured her. The pictures will be fine.
The first shot was of the world map, made from water rising out of the fire. The water danced in squiggles above the basin. This time, they saw a star in the middle of the North American continent and another on the island of Keereeneeda, where they were camped.
A third star appeared to the north.
Steven thought it might be a big island in Canada, off the coast, above Seattle.
Mouse nodded. “I think that’s Vancouver Island. My geography isn’t the best though. Vancouver is a really nice city. I went there with Rhaegen Mulk at some point. That was when he still kinda sorta liked me. Damn, but I got drunk there. He didn’t like me so much after that.”
Chazzie patted her shoulder. “Aww, our little booze hound. Remind me to buy you a beer.”
“One is too many, and a thousand is not enough,” Mouse said seriously.
On this world, we didn’t call it Vancouver Island. For us, it was Vankeevra. Nefri swiped to the next picture. Elvish runes, made of ice, hung in the air where the map had been.
Nefri translated, and Steven relayed the information. “Nefri says it’s basically a warning to anyone trying to find the Lyra. The light walkers. That’s what the words call them. The queen will slay anyone who finds them. She wants to remain hidden with the world’s people. The dark walkers will only grow more powerful. And those who trespass on the cold island will find death there.”
“Cold island?” Chazzie let out a long moan. “What’s the point of an island if it’s not tropical? I mean, really, it’s hard to drink umbrella drinks when you’re freezing your ass off.”
“Make it a virgin piña colada for me.” Mouse then rethought what she’d said. “Oh, right, snow. Okay, a large mocha latte. Who doesn’t like a mocha?”
“No one,” Pru agreed. “We have to save the universe because I’m pretty sure mochas will be hard to find if the Zothoric eat everything.”
“The Great Devouring,” Steven whispered. It was vital they find Quinnestri now, to save her planet. He’d have to endure her wrath and convince her to help them. In the end, the Zothoric finding Aqualyra might be for the best.
The next picture showed fiery sigils in the air. Nefri let him know she couldn’t understand them.
Steven told them. “Nefri doesn’t recognize the words. Like before, they are a mystery.”
The last pictures were of Quinnestri’s face, made of flame now. More and more, Steven thought she was behind the necromancy. Vandrus Dree left the clues. She wanted to make sure no one followed them. Or maybe the two had worked together.
“I’m curious who you are,” Steven said. “How about you give me three guesses. Then we can fight. I imagine this is all going to come down to a fight.”
“Not yet,” the knight said. “We might skirmish a bit, but no, I’ve seen the future. We face off with each other but not here. Fuck, killing you is going to be a pleasure. But sure. Let’s play your guessing game. I would assume your people are coming. Mine are too. Betcha I have more of them.”
“Good. I like killing Shaze.” Steven wasn’t lying. Every Shaze kill took away Animus but it also gave him Morta. And he was getting better and better at BlackBlood.
“The Myriad. We have more than just Shaze. But anyway. Guess away, Steven D.” The Dragonknight stood with his hands on his hips.
Shock swept through Steven. If the Dragonknight was aligned with the Zothoric, and if he’d brought the Myriad here, it meant that Aqualyra was doomed. Had he led the Dragonknight to the elven world? It seemed so. That wouldn’t make Quinnestri very happy, but it would force her hand to help them eradicate the threat.
“AnimusChain,” Steven whispered. He reached out with his senses. Animus, the Dragonknight was running on Animus, and it was keeping him alive. And yet, there was the taste of Morta on him. That black ichor leaked out of him, which was why he left tracks. He’d given his soul over to Zothora, that was clear.
“You didn’t get Icharaam’s Orb from underneath Dodge City,” Steven said. “But I think you’re from Gaia Beta.”
“What you call the Battle World?” the knight asked. “That’s not really a guess. I think you need to give me a name.”
“Living in your father’s shadow,” Steven mused. “My first guess is Bruno Illick. Mordred’s son. I know the Battle World had the Dragonknights. Maybe you are another version of him.”
“I have no idea who that is,” the knight said. “I wasn’t too good at history. You don’t really need any history when your father is king of the world.”
“King of the world.” Steven thought of Rahaab. He thought of the lineage. “Attur Dro was one of Icharaam’s sons. Mynn Lyrr was a descendant of Mathaal. Rahaab didn’t much like humans, but he did father at least one evil asshole. My second guess is Mulkred, Rahaab’s son.”
The knight waved a hand. “Wrong. Again, you know fuckloads more than me. No, it’s not like that. I’m far more current. Like current events.”
Steven’s mind raced. “Okay, before I use my last guess, I’d like to know why you joined the Zothoric. You still have Animus in you.”
The Dragonknight swept back his cloak and unhooked a double-bladed battle-ax from his belt. “I want to win. We were never going to beat the Zothoric. But if I join her, if I give her you, well, I will fucking win a fight for once.”
“Faith,” Steven said. Armor from the Baxter rings covered him. He kept his secret weapon hidden. He and Tessa had used Enchantrix to figure out the trigger word. “You have no faith.”
“Hard to have faith when you watch your world destroyed,” the Dragonknight said.
Only he wasn’t a Dragonknight. A piece of the puzzle slid into place for Steven. “You weren’t worthy. You tried to get the orb, but it needed the touch of a true knight. Even I couldn’t touch it. Neither could you.”
“I never said I was a fucking knight,” the cloaked figure said. “Like I told you, fuck history and all that Arthur and Merlin bullshit. Let me give you a hint. I’ve hooked up with the Terror Trio, or that’s what you call them. On my world, they didn’t mean shit to anyone. I’ve been calling myself Ven Dro. Does that help you with your last guess?”
The Terror Trio had worked for Rhaegen Mulk. Could this new asshole be Edgar Vale, maybe the Battle World version of him? Or could it be one of Mulk’s sons?
Steven wasn’t sure, but then, only one of the Trio, Karlos Butcher, had managed to escape the Leadville battle. Gideon Scaramanga and Kai Charon had both been killed.
While he stood thinking, a name crept into Steven’s head. Arthur Drokharis had been a king, but no, that wasn’t right. There was no way this monstrosity in front of him, a man who’d sell out whole worlds just to win, could be a Drokharis.
“Oe Uchiko,” Steven said in a loud, firm voice.
“Who in the fuck is that?” their enemy asked.
“I am the darkness.” A voice slithered through the sounds of the water gushing and splashing on the tiles.
Three arrows, one after another after another, slammed into the back of Ven Dro. The asshole in knight’s clothes whirled. Just in time to take Uchiko’s lead weight in his face.
Steven thundered, “Love!” In his hand appeared a revolver the size of a cannon. Six cylinders held the biggest bullets in the world, the 950 JDJs. They had a diameter of .95 inches fueled by half a pound of gunpowder each.
He pulled the trigger. Steven could figure out the name of this asshole after he was dead.
Chapter Twenty
VEN DRO SHRIEKED IN pain and fury before teleporting, thanks to Icharaam’s Vambraces. Steven’s round took out a chunk of wall behind him just as the false knight vanished.
He appeared next to another waterfall, where two more of Uchiko’s shafts struck him.
Ven Dro ripped them out of his belly and tossed them aside. “Your little arrows aren’t going to do shit to me. I’m basically dead, bitch. Wherever you are.”
The ninja had vanished in the darkness.
Steven fired off two more rounds. The explosions echoed through the chamber. He couldn’t let the false knight leave, not when he might know the location of the next clue to finding the Lyra.
Steven turned and bathed the basin in fire. Whatever magic was inside was triggered a second time. Like before, runes rose from the flames, but these were made of dancing water.
Nefri descended a spire near them, her BlackBlood keeping her aloft as she crawled down the surface, not unlike a spider. She vaulted off the side of the building, flipped through a waterfall, and landed on the tiles of the courtyard in front of the basin. In her hand was a phone, pink and bejeweled. That came from one of the machine-gun twins, without a doubt.
Brilliant, she was going to take pictures of the clues.
Two pink dragons, flanked by an amber one, winged their way down to the courtyard.
Steven kept on Ven Dro. He’d appear, Steven would fire at him, and the villain would teleport again.
“Magica Divinatio!” Steven thundered. He saw where the false knight would appear, next to a statue of a tall elf king with his hands outstretched. Water poured from his palms.
Ven Dro stood there.
Steven had him.
The false knight’s cloak took the brunt of the bullet. Ven Dro was knocked onto his ass.
The cowl was back, and Steven got his first look at the false knight’s ruined face. One eye gazed at him, lidless. The other was wincing in pain. His nose showed mostly cartilage. His scalp hung off his skull like a bad hat. Around the torn flesh of his head swirled a diabolic green fire, which licked at Icharaam’s Crown. Steven still hadn’t been able to figure out what that magic item did. And he couldn’t very well ask Ven Dro—too much shit was going on.
Shaze slammed down in front of the false knight, taking the last of Steven’s bullets. Every round blew them into chitinous debris. Their midnight blood painted the marble. Every death pulled Animus from Steven and added to his Morta core.
Steven thought about using HeartStrike to end Ven Dro once and for all. That would leave him helpless for a time. That wouldn’t work. Steven knew what was coming.
Nefri didn’t stop taking pictures. She was cataloging the magical clues, and Steven was glad she was there.
Quinnestri’s voice thundered around them. “Hidden in dreams, death protects those who walk in the light. As for those on the dark path, arise, and fulfill your terrible destiny.”
A snake coiled around him, an anaconda to be precise. Butcher had flown down out of nowhere to circle Steven. The snake’s skin was rough with razor-sharp edges, and he was trying to squeeze Steven, though that was laughable. The armor protected him.
“Hate,” Steven thundered. The revolver disappeared back into the armor. He flung himself forward, crushing the nightmare anaconda against the marble.
The Morphling shifted into a giant boar, armored, with razor-sharp tusks and spiked hooves.
Bullets peppered him, splashing dark ichor across the marbles. That would be Chazzie and Pru, gunning down the boar.
Ven Dro appeared next to the boar, touching him with a gauntlet. Butcher’s wounds healed. The false knight shifted into a black dragon, took three steps, and leapt into the air. Butcher had already taken off, running through the air. The big boar could fly. Okay, fine. He wasn’t that important anyway.
Steven wasn’t about to let the false knight flee, but he couldn’t chase after him right away. Demon bugs were galloping across the courtyard, coming at him hard.
Mouse landed in front of him, the Slayer Blade flashing as she hacked apart Shaze, giving him cover.
Steven flung out his claws. He focused on his rage and hate, and his Morta core responded. Smoke poured from his hands to become tentacles of BlackBlood. He encircled Ven Dro’s back leg. Steven tried to yank him out of the sky. The false knight was smart. He shifted human and teleported higher as more of Uchiko’s arrows slammed into him. He was like a pincushion, feathered shafts sticking out of him at all angles.
“We have company!” Mouse wailed. “And I’m feeling shitty!”
Steven used AnimusChain to fill Mouse’s core. He turned just in time to see armored skeletons, covered in shadows, floating in from every side of the courtyard. Their ghostly white hair hung from their skulls.
“Defensio!” Steven got his shield up just in time to protect himself from a barrage of spectral spears, arrows, and javelins.
The skeletons waded into the Shaze, ending the lives of the demons with their midnight swords.
Nefri leapt onto Steven’s back. She pounded on his scales.
Steven turned just in time to see Quinnestri’s face, made of water, dripping back down into the flames of the basin. The water hissed as it touched the fire burning there.
Ven Dro cackled from somewhere above. “I like the gun, Steven. I like all your toys. We’ll meet again.”
Three black arrows raced upward. Nefri’s aim was true.
The false knight let out a howl of pure pain. At least one of those shafts found a home in him.
Steven took off from the courtyard. Mouse carried Uchiko in her claws. Chazzie and Pru were Homo Draconi, giving them covering fire. Their guns rattled, but they weren’t firing bullets, not normal rounds anyway. Pink flashes of light broke through the bones of the flying skeletons. Those rounds were from Tessa’s magical canisters. The contained Impetim bullets were effective in blasting the undead to pieces. Bodies, armor, and weapons fell to the floor below.
Steven landed on the ledge. Ven Dro, Butcher, and the remaining Shaze had already fled up the stairs.
Steven shifted human and grabbed Samael’s Lash. In his partial form, he flew up the staircase, down the corridor below the ocean, and back into the hallways with sand sculptures on either side. When he emerged, it was dark outside.
The moonlight showed him he was alone in the island city. Ven Dro and his retinue had escaped. Yet, they’d given Steven a great deal to think about.
He rendezvoused with his Escort back at their beach camp.
Steven cast a Magica Divinatio spell. He reached out with his thoughts, searching for Ven Dro. He saw the false knight back on the plains. He’d used a portal spell to get there. Of course he did. He didn’t have to worry about the Zothoric finding him.
Steven smiled when he saw how much pain the villain was in. A gaunt figure appeared out of the water of a lake, a place Steven knew—Standley Lake, or the Aqualyra equivalent. Gideon was alive, and yet, he was a creature of Morta now, hairless, more insect than man. The Magician pulled the arrows out of the false knight, who fell, unconscious.
Gideon’s voice slithered into Steven’s mind. Ven Dro was wounded. He will have to rest. If only the Mother were here. If only we could hear her voice.
The vision faded.
Steven felt better. They had some time. He didn’t think Gideon or Butcher would try and find the next clue alone.
Now, they had to figure some things out.
Nefri held up the pink phone triumphantly.
Mouse grimaced and laughed. “A dark elf with a cell phone. Now I’ve seen it all. Did you get a good signal down there, blue butt?”
Nefri squinted, smiled, and shook her head sheepishly.
“Now, now,” Chazzie said. “Let’s keep the kidding to a minimum. I’m dying to figure out what all went down there.”
Steven told them of the guessing game he’d played with Ven Dro.
Pru sighed. “Well, the truth is, he could be anyone. But he’s certainly from the Battle World. And he sold out his entire planet. Fuck me.”
Nefri brightened at those last two words.
Chazzie took over. “Zothora just loves the taste of dragon meat. If she kept him alive, she has a reason.”
Mouse frowned. “And not just because the bug bitch loves his creamy Animus. He’s like a Twinkie, after all. Only with a lot less sponge cake.”
For the first time, the twins didn’t chide her for jumping into their scheming.
“It’s certainly obvious,” Pru said. “You see, Ven Dro was able to go down there, get the clue, and he wasn’t attacked by the undead elves. It’s probably because they didn’t sense he was a Morta creature. We have Steven and Nefri, who are more like cupcakes full of creamy Morta. So when we got the clue, the undead came running.”
“Having a Dragonknight would certainly help the bug bitch,” Chazzie agreed. “Killing the bastard isn’t going to be easy. He has Icharaam’s goodies. And he’s already dead.”
Steven thought of the crown he kept in his gear. He didn’t want to wear it all the time. He wasn’t a princess, or a prince, for that matter. So far, Enchantrix hadn’t helped him unlock the mystery of the item.
“Are you going to say it?” Mouse asked Pru.
The Texan curled up her nose. “What now?”
Mouse gave her a bored look. “Where’s Tessa when we need her? The line goes, ‘How do you kill something that is already dead?’”
“It’s a good question,” Steven said before Pru could hurl an insult. “Gideon is alive again. I saw him in a vision. He’s back on the plains, near Standley Lake, near a Cruxis.”
Nefri let out a moan.
The twins exchanged glances.
Pru spoke first. “Well, that certainly makes things more complicated. I was just getting used to Aqualyra. It won’t be long until it’s wiped clean of Animus. Those Shaze multiply faster than rabbits on Viagra.”
“It’s not all bad news,” Steven said. “They’re cut off from Zothora. As far as we know, she doesn’t know Aqualyra is still alive. I think the magic the elves used to hide their world is powerful. I hope it is.”
Nefri waved the phone.
“Yeah, let’s take a gander at the clues,” Chazzie said.
Steven used Divination to connect to Nefri.
They gathered around the phone.
I should’ve taken video, Nefri sent. But the technology is new. I am not good at it.
It’s okay, Steven assured her. The pictures will be fine.
The first shot was of the world map, made from water rising out of the fire. The water danced in squiggles above the basin. This time, they saw a star in the middle of the North American continent and another on the island of Keereeneeda, where they were camped.
A third star appeared to the north.
Steven thought it might be a big island in Canada, off the coast, above Seattle.
Mouse nodded. “I think that’s Vancouver Island. My geography isn’t the best though. Vancouver is a really nice city. I went there with Rhaegen Mulk at some point. That was when he still kinda sorta liked me. Damn, but I got drunk there. He didn’t like me so much after that.”
Chazzie patted her shoulder. “Aww, our little booze hound. Remind me to buy you a beer.”
“One is too many, and a thousand is not enough,” Mouse said seriously.
On this world, we didn’t call it Vancouver Island. For us, it was Vankeevra. Nefri swiped to the next picture. Elvish runes, made of ice, hung in the air where the map had been.
Nefri translated, and Steven relayed the information. “Nefri says it’s basically a warning to anyone trying to find the Lyra. The light walkers. That’s what the words call them. The queen will slay anyone who finds them. She wants to remain hidden with the world’s people. The dark walkers will only grow more powerful. And those who trespass on the cold island will find death there.”
“Cold island?” Chazzie let out a long moan. “What’s the point of an island if it’s not tropical? I mean, really, it’s hard to drink umbrella drinks when you’re freezing your ass off.”
“Make it a virgin piña colada for me.” Mouse then rethought what she’d said. “Oh, right, snow. Okay, a large mocha latte. Who doesn’t like a mocha?”
“No one,” Pru agreed. “We have to save the universe because I’m pretty sure mochas will be hard to find if the Zothoric eat everything.”
“The Great Devouring,” Steven whispered. It was vital they find Quinnestri now, to save her planet. He’d have to endure her wrath and convince her to help them. In the end, the Zothoric finding Aqualyra might be for the best.
The next picture showed fiery sigils in the air. Nefri let him know she couldn’t understand them.
Steven told them. “Nefri doesn’t recognize the words. Like before, they are a mystery.”
The last pictures were of Quinnestri’s face, made of flame now. More and more, Steven thought she was behind the necromancy. Vandrus Dree left the clues. She wanted to make sure no one followed them. Or maybe the two had worked together.
