Chapter Ten

The night was still and quiet. Vinshar and his cadre stood ready, weapons arrayed in front of us, waiting for the Beast to charge. Armor clanking loudly in comparison to the near silence of the night. Daniel was behind them, shield up and hammer unslung from his hip. Breathing deeply, trying to keep his nerves calm.

The man and beast in the depression had turned to face us. Grimrider's tail whips wildly as its hooves beat the ground in a barely restrained eagerness to charge. It knew just as well as the humans that on its own while casualties would be taken it would die in the process. It didn’t lose its eyes and unleashed that sonic scream, in great pain to itself, just to die in the subsequent encounter with the knights. No, it would bide its time for a few more moments until the paladin was ready. Then, it should have the advantage. And if the paladin dies or becomes too weak to defend himself after, well, Grimrider certainly wouldn’t be against such an outcome. For now it waits

In contrast to Grimrider, the paladin had an annoyed posture, clear even through his armor. He didn’t want to be here, he wouldn’t be if it what need to be done.

The only person who moved was Lantos as he stomped past the knights moving a foot down the slope. He quickly drew his wand, pointing it down at the two.

"What is this!." There was both firmness and venom in Lantos' voice as he spoke. “A paladin cohorting with a beast, worse yet, training it. Have you forgotten your oaths?”

The man didn’t respond for a while. Letting the sound of the night dominate the space for an uncomfortable minute as he seemingly pondered the question with a silent huff. When he did speak, it was under his breath, practically muttered, like we weren’t worth the effort to speak clearly. “I know my oaths.”

“And what oath is that!” Lantos demand. "One of reckless abandon and slaughter."

“An old one." The Paladin let out a depressive sigh, shoulders slumping down like a great weight was pressing down on him. “ from before the empire. An oath many of our fellows have forgotten.”

“Before the empire? Your order wasn't even around for fifty years!"

"I am well aware, mage. But they were." The Paladin replied, pointing toward the knights with his axe. "The Drakken Rider's history is a long and sordid one."

"We have not been called that in many years, traitor." Vinshar said in an almost lackadaisical manner, his gaze locked on the beast as it paced back and forward, “ A couple hundred at the very least. Though I am surprised, you know the name. Didn’t know the Paladins taught our history with their clear contempt of it.”

“We don’t hate the history of the Riders, but-” He stops himself before sighing again. “I’m not here to retread the old ground of our separation. In memoriam of our once-one order, I offer you one warning, leave and don’t speak of what happened tonight, and you’ll be spared of what’s to come. At least for now. Or will you join these ones,” gesturing to the others, "in their fate?"

“Like you would let them go. If you had your way, I'd bet you would ambush them on their way to ‘Hallon.” Lentos interjects.

“Not that we would. We've come to kill Grimrider. I lost a friend to that thing; we will not leave until we have done so.”

The Paladin slowly shook his head, “So be it then.”

It all happens at once.

The paladin steps forward.

A light ringing of glass sounds out.

Grimrider lunges.

The Outriders charge.

Lantos shouts a warning.

Then the night turned to day.

---

I knew Lantos was up to something when he moved before the knights. I could feel an electrical tingling like when your hair stands on end during a storm. He was stalling for something. But I still wasn't prepared for how fast it all happened.

One moment it was still. The next is full of light, sound, and violence.

Even with the warning, I barely managed to get my hands over my ears and avert my eyes when it happened. Blinking spots out my eyes, I moved toward Daniel, who had fallen to his knees, dropping his shield and hammer on the ground next to him and cradling his head.

The thunderous crack of thunder must have been especially painful to him with his sensitive hearing.

When I managed to stumble my way to him, I noticed his mouth was open, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Though I could guess he was screaming. I would be.

Quickly checking him over, he appeared in pain but otherwise ok. Just have to hope our hearing wasn’t permanently damaged, a concern for later.

Looking toward the slope, I first noticed Lantos ducking under the horizontal slash of the paladin’s axe. Flicking his wand upwards in an overhead counter slash to the enemy's hands.

Who pushed forward, taking the wand to the bracer, which with a slight delay, dented inward as sharp compressed air the rod left in its wake forced its way through. While at the same time kneeing Lantos in the side, sending him tumbling back toward me.

While the blow to the arm was painful, it clearly wasn't debilitating as the paladin spun the axe around to leverage the newfound distance for a final vertical strike to the Adept.

Only for Tellock, who in an instant deftly placed herself past the head of the axe, choking up on her weapon and simultaneously stabbing downwards at the gab at his neck and blocking the paladin’s attack.

Narrowly dodging the attack, he jumps back. Rings of mail flew away from the blow. The two warriors oppose each other, both giving probing attacks, trying to find a weakness in the other's defense.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Tellock was inhumanly fast. In a blur of movement, she danced around her spear as the point weaved in and out of engaging the enemy, maintaining distance before instantly closing like a pitquill. The shaft bending and flexing almost like it was alive around her body. Despite being a life-or-death struggle, the way she moved looked more like a well-choreographed dance. She was beautiful to see moving.

The paladin was seemingly, to me, only able to keep up by focusing on defense and being the generally more skilled fighter. Though Daniel would be able to tell more from this, my brawling experience not mapping perfectly to armed combat, essentially at this level of strength, speed, and skill. Though I need to find out where he gets all that weapon knowledge and experience from in hindsight. But it looks like the paladin was doing more complicated maneuvers. Blocking and striking in the same movement, using a parry to power the next attack, and dodging by just enough to save energy.

Tellock might be able to hold him off, but without a significant change, he will simply outlast her.

"Anna?" Daniel called out weakly, or maybe it was dim to my ears.

"Yeah?" I kept my focus on the fighting in front of me, glancing over to the other knights who were engaging Grimrider, now with a blackened and cracked bone plate on its chest. Black viscous ichor leaking out from the wound.

The beast was in a daze. Stumbling and spasming as it moved. Vinshar and his men were doing better than their last encounter with it, able to not only pen it in between them but only land admittedly small but numerous cuts and jabs on Grimrider.

"Breath," Daniel says, steadying himself on my shoulder.

What? Looking down at myself, my hands were shaking, touching my head, and feeling how clammy my skin was. How didn’t I notice how little I was breathing?

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my nerves as much as possible.

"You doing okay, sis?" His voice was full of concern. I both love that he cares and hate that I made him worried in the first place. This isn't my first brush with danger, and I'm not even the one putting myself in harm's way. I should be better. I need to be better than this. I thought I promised myself never to feel this helpless.

"Y-yeah, and you?" Swallowing my problems, he doesn't deserve such a useless sister. I turn my gaze to him. He gave a small nod before trying to cover up a wince with a small smile.

"I'll live." Picking up the shield and hammer off the ground. He gazed unfocused at the fighting, "how are we doing?"

Taking another breath, I spoke as calmly as I could manage, "As well as we could hope, I s-suppose. Not sure how dangerous a Paladin is supposed to be, but Tellock is holding her own for now. Have you heard of them before?"

His brow scrunched a little as he thought, "I think so," he said slowly, talking quicker as he spoke," Dad mentioned them one time, years ago. Doesn't like them very much, but from what I remember, they supposedly split from the Outriders when the Lord Marshal forbade their involvement in the war against the Trow. Left a bad taste in grandfather's mouth; guess that was passed down to Dad." His eyes narrowed in thought. "Though that still doesn't explain this one's actions. Sounds like they should be pro-imperial, not whatever this is.

Ză yē flum swăv kăl. kăke sŭē vō haem kemn kĭbub.

“The world's fire is growing cold. He seeks to feed a dying flame.”

“What?” Daniel looked at me strangely.

“If you two are done whispering to each other, I would like some assistance.” a commanding voice suddenly calls back at us, making me start. I turned to see Lantos panting heavily as he kneeled a few paces in front of us, looking over his shoulder back at us with an eye while keeping the fights in his peripheral.

We move quickly over; he grabs my hand and palms one of the orbs of essence into it. I don’t need to look at it to know which one he gave. The burning warmth of the primordial ash pressing in and flowing up my veins told me everything I needed to know. The glass was mostly stained that icky black-brown color of burned ceramic, the glowing embers peeking through. The thin coat of primordial ash revealed itself as I rolled the glass around my hand.

“That bolt took more out of me than I was expecting,” he says between pants,” haven’t let loose in too long. Added too much ash and not enough zephyr. Worse, that traitor knows how to fight a mage, ducked behind the Beast, then tried to get rid of me as quickly as possible. If I had a different master.” Lantos’ face scrunches in frustration as he observes the fight. “ Just my luck, fucking Zefra. The worst type of enemy is an intelligent one.”

Ignoring the possibility that Lantos has killed enough people to have a preference. Even if it missed its intended target, that bolt still did good work. Maybe it’s because beasts don’t have proper organs, the denseness of their flesh, the bone plates, or some other esoteric reason. The lighting was reduced from fatal to merely debilitating. Glancing down at Grimrider again, it still hasn’t fully recovered from that initial attack. Debilitating might have been enough.

Vinshar and the other two, whose names escaped me, were taking advantage of the Beast's impaired state. Managing to keep the hobbled Grimrider penned in the depression and even score wounds in the gaps of its plates. But unfortunately, not without the Beast making them bleed for it. Red now stained its bladed tail. Which of the knights it injured was too difficult to tell from this distance.

Meanwhile, Tellock had pushed the paladin back away from us some distance, her constant barrage of trusts and slashes not relenting or slowing.

Standing up, Lantos winces but continues to speak,” That still has about one more burn left. If things go wrong, take that and run."

What? "I don't know how to use this a-and what about you?" I stuttered out

"Don't pretend; neither of you like me," he gritted his teeth, "And that's fine. I am unlikeable, but my second priority is your safety. If we're about to lose, I would rather you chance death fleeing and trying to warn 'Hallon. What you hold, not just any fool has. It shows your importance that you should be listened to." Lantos looked down at me, I still find reading other people difficult, but his eyes weren't full of his usual self-important arrogance but with something kinder that I couldn’t identify. “And I said it before it's intuitive, stop over-thinking it and just feel. You will figure it out or you will die. Better to try and fail than not and die anyway.”

He looked at Daniel. "Boy, you are a squire, correct?"

A squire? Daniel shook his head, "Great grandfather was on my dad's side, grandma on my mom's."

"Really, you're that strong as a third generation! Think you can keep up with the Paladin?"

There was a brief pause before Daniel nodded slowly.

Lantos smiled a vast and wild grin, " Good, go help the knightess. I have a beast to kill." With that, he dashed toward Grimrider.

I grabbed Daniel by the wrist before he could do the same. He could break my grip easily, no matter how hard I tried to grip.

"You'll die," it came out as barely a whisper, but he heard it all the same. My eyes were locked on his wrist. I couldn't look at his face. I knew what would happen if I did.

“No, I won’t,” he gently pried my shaking hand from around his wrist. “I’ll be fine, Anna. trust me.”

Then I was alone, as everyone around me fought for their lives. I stood and watched. Watched and did nothing. Useless. Worse than useless, a detriment, something that needs to be protected, taking strength from the fight. Lantos had to give up a conduit, an item he had trained to use for years just so I have a chance to make it back.

You wish to help. To no longer have to watch as others risk death.

Yes.

Power comes at a price vōrdăz flum. Even a fire that burns so hot and bright as seen to be thought to last thăz will eventually burn out. What are you willing to suffer for power?

Anything.

Then take my claw rōă.

Without knowing, without thought, I reached out and took hold of her claw.

Say my name.

My mouth moved unwittingly, “Adalinda.”

Then the dragon with hollow eyes smiled.