The Nemedian Trilogy: Book 02 - The Dragon's Cup Read online

  Ethan glanced at Talina, to find her shielding her eyes against the glare of magic that only her eyes could see. Time passed and he decided to move closer towards the stone, then suddenly blinked in surprise as he felt the Spear of Lug begin to vibrate inside his trouser pocket. He reached inside to grasp hold of the object and pulled it out, staring at the enlivened object as he held it out before him, as he took another step forwards. Its vibrations grew stronger which each step, and once he was only a few feet away from the stone, it suddenly began to sing. The note it emitted was pure and clear and of a higher pitch than was possible by even the most exquisite female Soprano, yet it still sounded discernibly human.

  And then it began to glow.

  At first, nothing but a small, pale violet light appeared upon its handle, which rapidly began to spread along its shaft until the entire object began to shine. It was then that it began to increase in size. At first, its rate of growth was small, but in the space of only a few seconds, what was an insignificant looking object had transformed into magnificent weapon that was seven foot long. He heard Talina gasp and was about to speak when the rustle in the grass behind him made him turn.

  A man with unnaturally dark eyes stood staring directly at him, barely ten feet away. His eyes remained fixed upon Ethan, as he felt a familiar sensation of fear sweep through his body. He remembered those eyes. They were the same ones that he had seen when he had sat upon the Throne of Vines. They were the eyes that bore into him, tearing and clawing at his mind in an attempt to steal all his secrets. They were the eyes of pure evil and they were no longer in spirit form, they were now real and looking straight at him.

  The Demon had found him.

  It smiled at him coldly as its eyes narrowed, “You have led me on a merry chase mage, but now your travels come to an end,” it paused as its gaze flashed towards the Spear that he held, “and what do you have there?”

  “Who are you?” Ethan said, ignoring its question as he strained to keep his voice cal, “and why you are hunting me?”

  The Demon stared at him wordlessly for several long moments before answering, “I am GraJin,” it replied with a small bow, “I am a senior Commander from the Thirteenth Tier, the last surviving Tier in my world that your kind has not yet destroyed.”

  Ethan frowned in confusion, “I do not understand-“.

  The Demon’s face twisted in anger as it moved a step closer towards him, “I once had the time for such games but being trapped inside a corpse for two millenia can change a person you know?” it said as a look of madness momentarily crossed its face, “But now I only seek pleasure and power and I will gain both by killing you,” it sniggered as it suddenly raised its hands and leapt towards him.

  Ethan gasped as an intense feeling of cold penetrated deep inside his flesh that caused him to fall backwards as the Spear of Lug tumbled out of his hands. The Demon bared its teeth to form a wicked smile as it watched him fall. Ethan suddenly felt something warm and sticky spread across his chest and looked down to see the red stain of his own blood begin to drench his clothing. He heard Talina scream as she saw the Demon move in even closer and crouch down towards him.

  “This is almost too easy-,“it said as it smacked its lips in disappointment as it clasped its hands around his throat.

  Then seemingly out of nowhere, Talina appeared. She had gathered her wits and swiftly grabbed hold of the fallen Spear of Lug as she pointed it directly at the Demon, “Ibar!” she yelled.

  In response to her command, the Spear shot out from her hands as its course ran true, piercing straight through the back of the creature and exiting cleanly through its chest. The Demon frowned briefly in surprise as its body slumped on top of Ethan, but its eyes remained fixed upon him, “We shall meet again,” it rasped as the last of the air was exhaled from its lungs.

  “Are you alright?” Talina sobbed as she whispered ‘Athibar’ to recall the Spear to her hands as she rushed towards him.

  Ethan struggled in vain to push away the corpse as its dark, lifeless eyes remained fixed upon his own, even in death. The ice shards that had penetrated his body were of an unknown depth, but he already felt his body begin to weaken. He wondered momentarily why Alexon had done nothing during the battle, but this thought was quickly lost as he began to rapidly slip into and out of consciousness.

  “Creator protect us,” Talina said in horror as hot tears splashed across her cheeks. Ethan saw her push away the body of the Demon and then try to stem the flow his blood as her hands quickly became covered in blood.

  It was then that everything began to change. It was if the entire world was being crumpled up into a tiny ball of paper. Ethan heard Talina scream in fear as she clasped both Ethan and the Spear close to her. Before darkness settled upon his eyes, he briefly saw a worried looking face bending over him as it whispered words of comfort.

  It was Cara.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The armada arrived just as the first rays of the sun danced across the sea, creating an enormous shadow that blocked the light from the East. Dozens of ships, each exquisitely crafted out of dark oak with full, jet black sails swiftly converged upon the port of Milvin. The Demons awoke to the sound of canon fire as metal filled the air, punching deep into the buildings, causing them to shudder and shake and then to finally fall as volley after volley rained down relentlessly upon the small town.

  A handful of Demons managed to stagger out from the crumbling buildings, only to be swiftly cut down by shrapnel. Those that clung to life on the furthermost reaches of port scattered in panic, but it was then that the soldiers disembarked, swiftly leaping from atop of the bows of their ships onto the crumbling pier as they entered the town.

  The Demons that had encamped around the remains of the College of Mages and its surviving library were not so easily overcome. Alerted by the shrieks of their dying brethren, they stormed down the hill towards the port in rage, only to find their attacks parried by a series of tight-knit platoons that had quickly entrenched themselves well behind inside the mounds of rubble that lay upon each of the town’s narrow streets.

  A steady patter of rain began to fall, but it did little to wash away the rivers of blood as the battle for the Isle of Vallan began to reach its climax. The soldiers were well armed and organised, but there was one thing that they had not taken into consideration, and that was the Demons that could fly.

  The sky suddenly darkened above as several large creatures shrieked across the skies. With deep crimson leathered wings, long sinewy bodies and tails and eyes as black as coal, the creatures swooped down and began to lift up huge boulders from the rubble between their claws, before flying above each of the tightly packed platoons and dropping them upon them. Four platoons containing over three hundred souls were swiftly claimed, as the rocks thudded and crashed down the small incline of the streets with devastating efficiency. A fifth platoon stared up in horror at the fate that was about to befall them. They were trapped and they knew it, as they were unable to break formation as the other Demons were lying in wait for them to do just that.

  It was then that something appeared that surprised them all.

  An enormous Griffen roared across the sky as its golden body glinted like a jewel in the morning sunlight. Such was its size, that it created its own wind with each powerful beat of its wings. Its gigantic claws began to rip through the fragile leather wings of the much smaller Demons, causing them to shriek in terror as they tumbled towards the earth to lie broken and dying upon the rocky ground below.

  The soldiers rallied in response to their newfound ally, finally able to break their defensive formation as they began to push their way forward, slaughtering the now panicking Demons as they began to advance up the hill towards where the remains of the College of Mages and library stood.

  As the light of the day began to fade, the battle for the Isle of Vallan was finally over. The smattering of rain swiftly became a downpour, as the blood and dust began to clear, leaving the corpses washed clean
. The smell of death was also blessedly short-lived as a stiff sea-breeze began to blow, as if commanded by the Creator himself to rid the land of the stain that was upon it.

  The soldiers wasted no time in clearing the island, dragging the corpses of the Demons into shallow pits along the Eastern shorelines, then adding firewood gathered from the nearby forests to set the pits alight. The sharp wind rapidly fanned the flames, causing them to rage throughout the night and by the following dawn, nothing remained except ashes and charred bones that were then gathered together and cast into the sea. The bodies of their own fallen were not treated in such a fashion, with each body carefully wrapped in black shrouds and placed upon the ships for passage back to their own people for an honourable burial upon their return home.

  As swiftly as it had appeared, the Griffin had mysteriously disappeared. Rumours began to spread from the soldiers that the creature was a blessing from the God Odin himself, during their time of need. But Master Bedwyr knew different. During his return from the vault, he had noticed that Molgarth had not been present, leaving him to believe that she had chosen to remain outside the vault when she had realised that the armada would need aerial support. He had seen the woman only briefly after the battle, her beautiful face looking strained and ashen and he could swear that he saw a glint of gold in her eyes before she had disappeared once more as she moved towards the port to offer aid to the wounded soldiers.

  The Grand Mage sighed then turned to stare at the young man that lay upon a plethora of blankets, his body shielded against the rain by a make-shift tent that had been erected by the soldiers. The young man’s face looked pale and his eyes remained closed. It had been touch and go for a while, while the Grand Mage and Alexon worked hard on Ethan’s body, removing the shards of ice that had pierced his flesh and closing his wounds, but he noted with satisfaction that his breathing was now strong and steady.

  Cara had never left his side. Even now, the girl with a tear-stained face was sleeping fitfully beside him, waking often to check upon the young man that it was obvious to one and all that she cared so deeply about. Master Bedwyr’s eyes glistened as he wondered how the relationship between them would blossom, now that the curse of the Throne of Vines had been removed. He realised that only time would tell and he smiled softly at them both as he moved quietly towards his own makeshift bed. He lay down and rested as he placed his hands behind his head and stared up vacantly towards the blank canvas of the tent above him, as his mind began to wander. He found it difficult to accept that they had just killed the creator of the kingdom of Nemedia. He doubted that the wizard’s death would have any impact at all upon Nemedia as the magic that sustained its creation was one of the four great treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann. However, the terrible fate and ultimate demise of what was once a good man, troubled him greatly.

  As dawn broke across a crystal clear sky, Ethan began to stir beneath his blankets. Cara immediately awoke in response to his mumblings and moved towards him, her face looking pale and drawn in the bright sunlight as she leaned over him. “How are you feeling?” she whispered as gently touched his left cheek.

  “Hungry,” Ethan smiled up at her weakly.

  Cara immediately moved towards the fire which she had taken care throughout the night to keep going strong and hung a metal pot filled with broth above it to warm its contents. After several minutes of energetic stirring, she filled a bowl and returned to him, gently lifting forward his head so he could eat it without moving.

  Ethan took a sip and immediately felt its warmth at the back of his throat, “Thank you,” he sighed as he stared into her intense blue eyes. She was staring at him with the same expression that he had seen from her several times before. It was the type of look that he couldn’t quite place but each time he saw it, it made his heart beat faster.

  “You had us all worried for a while,” she said as tried in vain to hide the strain in her voice.

  “I worried myself too for a moment,” Ethan said as he failed to sound humorous and struggled to prop himself up on his elbows, wincing momentarily in pain.

  “Careful, your wounds have only recently been closed,” Cara admonished as she gently pushed him back down, plumping up the bedding behind his head so that he could eat the rest of his soup without any further movement.

  “How did you stop the bleeding?” Ethan enquired as attempted to stare down at his clothing, but failing to see anything as he was now well swaddled underneath a mountain of protective blankets.

  “When Alexon learned that you were wounded, he worked with Master Bedwyr to help close them,” Cara replied quietly.

  Ethan frowned in confusion, “He sees everything with my eyes so how could he learn later that I was wounded?”

  Cara raised an eyebrow in surprise, “He was with the Goddess Ériu inside her mystical plane and had only just managed to get her to reawaken the powers of the Spear of Lug, when the Demon came and attacked you.”

  “I see,” Ethan said as he let out a long sigh. He suddenly felt guilty at his mistrust of Alexon. Although his spirit ring had done something terrible to the Fairies, his ultimate motives and behaviour towards Ethan had so far had been honourable.

  The two companions were left alone together for the remainder of the day, most likely due to strict instructions from the Grand Mage to give Ethan the chance to rest. He felt a brief stirring inside him from Alexon, as he let him know that he was with him once again, but the spirit ring had remained silent as it also sensed the need to give Ethan time.

  Talina had informed Master Bedwyr of all that had befallen them and she had handed the Spear of Lug to him for safekeeping. The item was now highly responsive to the needs of its user, even shrinking down in size on command so that it could be easily to hidden and carried with them on their journey. Ethan allowed himself a brief smile of satisfaction when realised how much that both he and Talina had achieved.

  By the morning of the following day Ethan felt strong enough to rise from his bed. He gingerly walked over to where a middle aged man with short brown hair and dark brown eyes was busily stirring a pot of stew. He squinted at the man, still doubtful despite Cara’s insistence that it was the Grand Mage that had been altered due to the powers of a transformation spell. He wondered momentarily why Master Bedwyr still kept his new physical form now that there was no longer any need to do so, but decided against asking him.

  “Can we talk?” Ethan asked as he suddenly felt lightheaded and sat down promptly upon a pile of blankets that were next to the fire.

  The Grand Mage nodded silently while continuing to stir the contents of his pot.

  “So what happens now?” Ethan asked finally as he heard his own stomach rumble in response to the smell of the food.

  Master Bedwyr smiled and swiftly filled two wooden bowls with the soup, setting down one of the steaming bowls in front of Ethan, “Let us talk as we eat,” he said as he sat down crossed legged opposite Ethan with his own bowl of food, “you have lost a lot of blood and good food will help you replenish it quickly.”

  Ethan nodded his thanks and eagerly began to eat, “Do we find the ‘Dragon’s breath’ next?” he asked as his cheeks bulged.

  The Grand Mage shook his head, “It is not so straightforward Ethan. This is why I had to bring you back to Nemedia rather abruptly,” he frowned darkly, “I must apologise for the severity of your return, but its timing turned out to be strangely apt.”

  Ethan remained quiet while the Grand Mage continued, “I now have in my possession the sacred tome of the Wizard Manannán. It contains the answers to many mysteries. I know how to close the tear inside ‘the veil’ once and for all.”

  Master Bedwyr shifted uncomfortably upon his blanket as his eyes flashed towards him, “I must ask you to travel with me to the Thirteenth Tier.”

  Ethan coughed out a mouthful of stew, “Why?”

  The Grand Mage’s expression darkened, “I have learned of a shameful secret that the Wizard Manannán only admitted to inside his own bo
ok of magic that I now possess.” Master Bedwyr put down his bowl of food, “When he created the magical kingdom of Nemedia, he accidentally opened a portal to another world. This world was once full of life and thriving, but the portal tore it into thirteen pieces, destroying all life except upon its final tier.”

  “The Thirteenth?”

  The Grand Mage nodded as his eyes glistened with moisture.

  Everything that Ethan had known, or thought he had known, had been wrong. Nemedia had never been the victim of an evil and unprovoked attack. Its very creation had almost destroyed an entire world. He slowly rose to his feet and stood before the Grand Mage, “Who is coming with us?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Heavy sheets of rain fell upon the companions as they left the North Western plains behind them and entered the Goblin Pass. Long shadows immediately surrounded them as they entered its narrow entranceway that cut deep into the earth, as its steep incline drove them deeper into the depths of the valley. After several hours of laboured travel, the pass widened significantly, revealing the mountains that stretched upwards for thousands of metres all around them as the air became discernibly colder.

  The narrow and treacherous pass had left the companions no option but to leave behind their mounts behind in the care of a young Dwarf with mousy brown hair named Bjarni. He was instructed to wait for them no longer than five days and if they hadn’t returned by then, he was asked to travel to the Grand Council to inform them that their mission had most likely failed. Vank had also been unable to fit his enormous frame inside the narrow pass and he and Ellaminva had already taken flight several hours ago in an attempt to re-join the group once they had reached the open plains of the valley.