Son of the Dragon (The Netherworld Gate Book 3) Read online

  Kelden’s eyes shot wide and his mouth fell open.

  “Careful there, Kelden, your face might freeze like that,” Yeoj winked. Then the man flashed that devilish smile of his that had always unnerved Kelden as he knocked Kelden’s legs out from under him, causing him to narrowly avoid being hit by an arrow. Yeoj twirled away around the side of the platform, leaving Kelden in the dust near the slain officer. Kelden heard the clashing of swords and the screams of dying men as he struggled for a moment to right himself with both hands and feet shackled.

  Then, it was over.

  Yeoj walked around to the back of the platform, his green eyes alight with pleasure. “I think we’ve tried it your way long enough, Captain.” Yeoj dangled a key between the index and thumb of his left hand.

  Kelden shuffled toward Yeoj, watching the man carefully. Kelden couldn’t understand it. The last time he had seen Yeoj, the man was lying in a bed with heavy, raised scars on his hands and a ghastly burn across most of his back. Yet, here he was, walking without pain and seemingly as healthy and strong as he had ever been before the devastating battle at the forge where he sustained his terrible wounds. “Your burns are healed?”

  Yeoj nodded. “When the city was besieged, an old friend of mine came to visit me.”

  “An old friend?” Kelden echoed questioningly.

  Yeoj slipped the key into the lock holding the chains on Kelden’s ankles and then turned the man around to loose his wrists. “I’m afraid I can’t give you the name,” Yeoj said. “Just know that this friend’s heart is in the right place, and he was able to patch me up.”

  Kelden shook his head as he rubbed his wrists. “No one patches up burns like what you had,” Kelden said sharply. “Unless there was magic involved.”

  Yeoj winked and put a finger to his nose. “I’d love to stay and chat, but we must be moving.”

  Kelden stepped around Yeoj to find six corpses on the ground in front of the gallows. “You killed all of them?” Kelden asked.

  “There weren’t that many of them,” Yeoj said quickly.

  “How did you find me?” Kelden asked.

  “It would take too long to explain,” Yeoj said. “We should leave before the others figure out what has happened.” Yeoj ran to the cart laden with bodies and leaned his weight into it as he pushed it toward the door that led in from the courtyard. No sooner had he wedged the cart against the door, than someone slammed into it from the inside.

  “What’s going on out there?” someone shouted.

  Yeoj hurriedly reached between the corpses and pulled up a leather sack. He quickly opened the drawstring and began dumping a dark powder all over the corpses and the wagon. Then, he took some of the remaining powder and created a line leading away from the cart.

  “You are going to want to stand back,” Yeoj said. The green-eyed man shook the last of the powder out of the bag and fished a tinder kit out of his pocket.

  “It was you who sawed the beam, wasn’t it?” Kelden asked.

  “Didn’t think I’d let you die, did you?” Yeoj replied.

  “But how did you manage to sneak into this place?”

  “Less talking, more walking,” Yeoj replied as he pointed toward an iron grate twenty yards behind the gallows.

  The shouting behind the door became more furious now and men from the inside were ramming the door, shaking the cart. Yeoj worked his tinder kit and lit the trail of powder. It fizzled and sizzled loudly as gray smoke flew up into the air and yellow sparks shot off in every direction.

  “Time to go!” Yeoj yelled. The man sprinted for the grate, grabbing Kelden’s arm and dragging him along. Yeoj bent down and pulled the barrier out and pointed down. “If we hurry, I can get you back with Queen Dalynn.” Yeoj waved impatiently to the open hole.

  Kelden looked down. “No ladder,” he said.

  “Yes, I noticed that while I was climbing up earlier. Still, shouldn’t be a problem on the way down. Come on then, off you go.”

  Kelden shot Yeoj an incredulous look, but Yeoj grabbed him again and shoved him down into the hole. A moment later, Yeoj was sliding down the shaft right above Kelden. Kelden had to work his hands and feet quickly, pressing his back against the opposite side of the shaft to try to control his descent, but Yeoj was not making it easy.

  A mighty explosion erupted above and vibrated through the shaft they were climbing through. Kelden’s hand slipped on a patch of thick, wet moss and he fell. A few seconds later, he plopped into a deep canal of cool water. The current took him downstream a few yards, until he resurfaced and managed to swim to one side. He pulled himself up onto the narrow walkway and swept the water from his face. He looked up to the tunnel and watched as Yeoj nimbly climbed down through the hole and flung himself toward the walkway. The man managed not to get a single drop of water on him.

  “Tell me who could heal you,” Kelden said. “A man like that can work miracles. I remember how deep the burns were.”

  Yeoj shook his head. “The secret dies with me. However, I will give you a bit of other news that should lighten your mood.”

  Kelden pushed up to his feet and awkwardly pressed himself against the wall as Yeoj walked past him and motioned for him to follow. “What’s that?” Kelden asked.

  “I thought you might like to know that Pendonov is safe.” He said as he grabbed Kelden by the shoulders and stepped nimbly around him on the narrow walkway.

  “Where is he?” Kelden asked with a sigh of relief. Last he knew, Pendonov was alternating between tending to Yeoj and preparing for defending the city as the queen had called for a mass conscription of all fighting-aged men.

  Yeoj turned and shrugged as he tugged on Kelden’s sleeve to urge him to follow him deeper into the dark tunnel. “Well, before all the fighting started, a group of elves came to the house where we were staying with Sebina, her aunt, and Jenedina. They said that Sebina’s brother had sent them. They took everyone to the Elven Isles.”

  “The Elven Isles, are you sure?”

  Yeoj nodded and fished in his pocket for something. He stopped, frowning while his hand rummaged around. “Ah, there it is.” He produced a small note and handed it to Kelden.”

  “The seal is broken,” Kelden said aloud as he took it.

  Yeoj shrugged. “Yes, well, you never returned to read it, so I thought I should take a peek at it.”

  Kelden smiled and shook his head. “Who gave Pendonov authority to leave?” Kelden asked after he read the note.

  “I did,” Yeoj said, using his foot to sweep a rat from the walkway and into the water as he continued forward. “Seemed the right thing to do at the time.”

  “You what?” Kelden asked as he quick-stepped forward to catch Yeoj by the shoulder. “You have no authority to do that.”

  Yeoj winked and pointed to the letter. “If I were you, I would worry about that cube the letter talks about. Besides, if the elves are taking your other operative, Kai, then Pendonov really isn’t much of a loss.”

  “What are you playing at?”

  Yeoj’s smile disappeared and he shook his head with a frown. “I’m not playing. Don’t you see?” Yeoj sighed and glanced down the tunnel to where it branched into three smaller waterways. “We need to keep moving. It won’t take them long to discover how we escaped. I have to get you to the queen.”

  “The queen?” Kelden echoed, standing dumbstruck in place as Yeoj began his way toward the right hand divergence.

  Yeoj beckoned him onward and nodded. “I saw her before I came to rescue you. She is doing well. She, Sir Alexander, the prince, and Karmt are all on a ship. It is making ready to sail west, for her exile.”

  “So Vald isn’t going to execute her?”

  Yeoj shook his head. “More than that, he gave her the cube back.”

  “The cube?” Kelden squinted in disbelief. “Captain Vald, the Shausmatian commander who captured Kobhir and dethroned the queen has not only decided to let her and her closest advisors live, but he is giving her the one artifact
that could prove her claim to rule the old empire? Are you sure of this?”

  Yeoj nodded. “Yep. That was one of the reasons I was sent to come and get you. Queen Dalynn is going to need your services. Come on, now. We have to reach the ship before they put out to sea.”

  “And what about you?” Kelden asked.

  “No, I am staying.” Yeoj called out over his shoulder as he made his way through a man-sized hole that had been bent back in the metal grating which covered the waterway’s exit from the tunnel to join with the city’s main canal as it emptied into the ocean ,

  “To do what?” Kelden asked, following him through. “You going to fight the Shausmatians all by yourself?”

  Yeoj turned and winked again. “Precisely, but I won’t be alone exactly. I’ll have my friend.” The two of them blinked in the sunlight for a moment, and then Yeoj gestured away to a private dock down the beach. “Your ship awaits, my captain.”

  CHAPTER 3

  “Why am I here?” Talon asked as he stared out into the pale light of the morning. The warm sun was rising off in the east and casting a silvery light over the morning dew and low hanging fog that covered the grassy field. He stood there, frozen and unable to move.

  Jahre walked around to stand in front of Talon, though his ethereal feet never touched upon the ground’s surface. The ghost of the elf sage smiled warmly. “I am running out of time. Khefir will return at the end of the three day term. Then, I will be taken down to Hammenfein, and you will be left to your own devices.”

  Talon didn’t say anything. The images he had seen haunted his memory. Reliving his parents’ murder had seemed so real. He had been unable to disconnect himself from the experience. He was not simply a spectator, it was as if he had gone through it for a second time. The feelings of anger, hatred, and guilt were as fresh in his soul now as they had been when he was a boy.

  The only difference was that now he had a clearer picture. Resist as he might, Talon knew that Jahre was presenting him with the truth. Talon’s father had been a willing sacrifice. Jahre, Talon’s grandfather, was soon to become the second sacrifice. His mother’s was a tragic murder, but it was brought about by the horrid, wretched bloodlust that was deeply rooted in Basei’s being.

  Even if it was only for revenge, Talon knew that he had to seek Jahre’s help. Without it, there was no way to make Basei pay for his crimes.

  “I can see you are thinking,” Jahre said. “Would you be open to hearing a lesson about the gods?”

  Talon managed a single nod.

  Jahre smiled and turned about. The elf spirit waved his hands and a vision opened in the air before them, pushing aside the mist and blocking out the sun as if the images played upon some sort of wall.

  The land in the vision was barren and dark. Crazed, depraved beings with bloodshot eyes and wicked blades lurked over a field littered with broken corpses. Their howls and screams filled the air, piercing Talon’s mind. Off in the distance behind them, a great volcano spewed lava as lightning streaked across an ashen cloud.

  “This is the end of the first Great War,” Jahre said. “You can see that the armies of evil have triumphed. If you look to the back of their ranks, you will see a faint, purple glow. That is from the harbinger crystal. It was forged into a weapon, and used to challenge the gods themselves.”

  Talon nodded. “Yes, so the Old Gods retreated, destroying the rainbow bridge behind them and leaving the mortals of Terramyr to fend for themselves,” the dead assassin put in quickly. “I know the story well. That is why my mother worshipped Basei.”

  Jahre nodded and held up a finger. The vision shifted as the elf waved his left hand. The barren wastes fell away and were hidden from sight by a large range of mountains. “You see this? This is the border of the lands where the wicked army lives. Though the Fallen One was able to seal the sun from the sky in the barren wastelands around the Obsidian Tomb and the volcano known as Gaia’s Tear, the Nahktun Mountains sealed the evil off from the rest of the world.

  “The vile creatures that were created by the harbinger crystal cannot infiltrate any lands outside of their own, for the sun will destroy them.”

  “Yet the Old Gods cowered in fear and left this world, leaving it ripe for the demi-gods to take and control under their despotism,” Talon commented.

  Jahre turned a stern look on Talon. “Not so!” His hard gaze held Talon’s eyes for a moment and then the elf turned back to the vision. “There was one who stayed behind, Lysander, the Protector of Men. The Old Gods have not entirely abandoned us.”

  “Then why doesn’t he stop the demi-gods?” Talon countered.

  Jahre continued without addressing the question. “Not all of the demi-gods are evil,” Jahre said. “In fact, most of them went in search of their power in order to protect their homes. One might even have called their quest a noble one. However, as power has a way of doing, it corrupted some of them. Basei more so than others.”

  “Give me one example of a demi-god that is not corrupted,” Talon hissed.

  Jahre nodded. “Lisei, the goddess of lightning and storms,” he said quickly. “She is not worshipped widely in Shausmat or Zinferth, but she has not fallen to corruption. Wasei, the god of fresh waters, is another example.”

  “Wasei is weak,” Talon shot back.

  Jahre shrugged. “There used to be more shrines in his name all throughout the Elven Isles as well as your home on the mainland, but they were overrun by Basei’s followers long ago. Still, I wouldn’t say Wasei is weak. It is just that Basei has his seat of power here, in this corner of the world, and therefore has a fast hold on its people.”

  Talon thought of Basei’s main temple and couldn’t stifle the growl that rose from the depths of his soul. “Things would be different if I had reached the gate,” he said without thinking.

  “You forget,” Jahre began, “I intend to help you get to the gate. I want you to dethrone Basei as much as you want revenge on him.”

  Talon curled his lip and held eye contact for a few moments before begrudgingly giving a single nod. “Go on with your lesson.”

  “As I was saying, the mortals that went on the quest for power found a very special relic, called the Sacred Seed. This gave them each powers that matched their character. Basei was given dominion over fire, destruction, and battle. As a mortal, he was already an intimidating purveyor of death, and the powers granted him by the sacred seed enhanced everything he already was in mortality. Others gained their several powers in similar fashion. No doubt you have heard of Wasei, Lisei, Osei, Esei, Asei, and other demi-gods, yes? They each have a specific dominion. For example, Lisei is the goddess lightning and storms. Esei if the god of earth and stone. The list goes on, but the point is that each victorious adventurer received great powers. Combined they could use their dominion to better the lives of those living upon Terramyr. Still, even with the gift of immortality, their wisdom was limited. Having been created as mortals, and coming from various walks of life as mortals do, their own emotions and desires ultimately drove them apart. What had once been a force to protect Terramyr from the Fallen One and his army, collapsed into disorder and resulted in individually acting, self-interested demi-gods. This disharmony not only yokes the people with a great burden, but it also creates a great weakness.”

  “A weakness for Terramyr?” Talon asked.

  “Precisely,” Jahre said with a nod. “Should the Fallen One ever return, and lead his army against the demi-gods, none of them will have the power to stand against him. After they fall, it is only a matter of time before the Fallen One will uncover a way to reach Volganor. Once that is accomplished, and he sets himself against the Old Gods in their Heaven City, then Terramyr shall become a doomed and cursed planet. The High Council will send the four horsemen to destroy our world.”

  “So, if I kill Basei, then you are saying my army of dark elves will be able to stop the Fallen One and prevent the end of the world, is that it?”

  Jahre shook his head. “The End War wi
ll come. The Fallen One will not be stopped by any single demi-god, or even all of them combined. However, you will be the deciding factor in the struggle against the horsemen.”

  “When will this war occur?” Talon asked.

  Jahre shrugged. “The visions are not clear. There are so many factors that contribute, it is impossible to gauge the time between now and then. It could be a decade, or possibly eons. There is no way to be sure.”

  Talon thought on this for a moment, trying to ascertain what angle the old sage might be trying to play, concocting such a fanciful tale of Talon rising as a hero to the whole world. Such a thing was not in his nature, and he doubted the sincerity of one he had counted as a mortal enemy in life, and who now seemed to possess even greater powers for manipulation in death. .

  “Why me?” he asked, carefully watching every nuance of Jahre’s facial expression and body language to try and determine the truth of his words.

  Jahre smiled. “The webs of fate connect all of us in one fashion or another. Some of us hold the web to the pillars of time. Others connect strands together and trap the flies that would threaten to escape before the spider can devour them. I must be careful not to reveal too much to you. Reflect on what I have said already, and trust that I would not go through this effort if I did not believe you were vital to Terramyr’s survival.”

  Talon paused. He tried to imagine himself acting in concert with dozens of other players in the fate of Terramyr, each making decisions that would upset or maintain balance. “So, I am important, but it isn’t my actions alone that will decide the End War, is that it?”

  Jahre nodded slowly. “It is true that without you, there is no chance for survival, but it is also true that even with you, others will play key parts as well. As I said, the webs of fate bind us all together to form one purpose. One corner of the web is supported by the opposite corner, and all of the strands in between.”

  “And what makes you so certain that I will choose the path you wish for me?”