Serpent Kings Saga (Omnibus Edition) Read online

  Ezekiah sat high in his saddle, surveying the mountains rising not far in the distance. Donavan returned to his own horse. “As I thought,” he reported. “The death walkers have ascended into the mountains.”

  “But there’s nothing there, except the mines and a few small settlements,” Ezekiah said. “And the dragons already control the mines.”

  “Perhaps they’re taking the hard road to Urth?” Donavan offered. But he didn’t seem convinced by the possibility any more than Ezekiah. “Who knows? Of course there is the possibility that they intend to intercept Varen and his men.”

  Ezekiah didn’t reply. They both knew that Gwen and Tobias were also onboard the locomotive heading through the mountains. Neither of them had to say it.

  “Which way is Elithias leading, Ezekiah?” Donavan asked. “I know there must be something.”

  Ezekiah looked at him.

  “We could try to intercept them in the mountains, if you like,” Donavan suggested.

  “No,” Ezekiah said finally. “We are too far behind them to be of any use now. Besides, you’re right. Elithias has directed us a different way. We must bypass the mountains, heading for the sea. Wherever this Haven is, out in the great beyond, we are bound to seek it.”

  “I feared as much,” Donavan said. “To be perfectly honest, I think I would rather face the death walkers than the Forbidden Sea. None have ever ventured out into it and returned. The bridge leading from shore is swallowed up by it. How will we ever find a city in the middle of the ocean? Even the Serpent Kings will not venture so far. They’ve forbidden anyone from leaving the shore.”

  Ezekiah grinned, looking at his friend. “Perhaps, they are simply afraid of someone finding what they hope will remain hidden,” he said. “Nevertheless, we are sent. And if Elithias is sending us to find Haven, then we will surely find it somehow.”

  The prophet goaded his horse and shot forth toward the great plain stretching before the Urtah Mountains. Donavan followed after without protest. They would pass through a forest beyond before finding the Forbidden Sea waiting to receive them.

  I was glad to see Andrea again. She and Tobias had become fast friends and we had shared a little of ourselves along the way as the train continued to rumble down the tracks toward the Urtah Mountains. Surely, Felonius had no idea where he was going. According to Andrea, they had simply sought a way to get as far away from Tarris as possible, as soon as possible. The idea that an entire city had been transformed by the dragons into death walkers made me shudder.

  The temperature had dropped considerably over the past few hours as we ascended into the Urtah Mountains. Higher up, snow was already visible. Felonius had not stopped the train for several hours and evidently intended to go beyond the mountains to the city of Urth sitting in the broad valley on the other side leading toward the sea.

  As Tobias and Andrea talked about her days with the High Guard, as interesting as her stories were, I remained distracted. Somewhere on these tracks, another locomotive was steaming along, carrying Varen and Jillian. And I couldn’t help but hope that every tunnel and turn would reveal them so that I could bring them to justice for what they had done to Ezekiah.

  Varen paused as they crested the ridge ringing the massive quarry below. He was ready to send his snipers out along the ridge in order to pick off any guards set up to sound an early warning to those within the mines. By and large, almost all of the work associated with the mines, as well as the housing, resided underground within a virtual city beneath the mountain.

  Vast networks of tunnels and associated chambers ran beneath the rocky surface, sheltering the thousands that lived and worked and died in the mines. Breeding, as far as the guards were concerned, was promoted. New workers were always needed to replace those whose lives were spent. Food and water were kept available in enough supply to get by; though the compliment of guards, numbering in the hundreds, never lacked full bellies.

  Cresting the ridge, Varen had expected to find the usual scene. One hundred or so slaves pushing carts of ore and rock along the cart tracks toward the tunnels that would deliver the raw ore to wagons sent from Urth. In Daimon’s patron city, the ore would be refined for pure product; whether it was gold or silver. Both could be found in steady supply within the Urtah Mountains. Even precious gems weren’t rare here.

  However, the vast quarry below was completely devoid of workers. Not a guard could be found. Only half filled, or empty trolley cars remained to attest to any human presence at all. Jillian sidled up close beside him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “There should be a lot of activity this time of day,” Varen said. “Something is wrong.”

  Jillian scanned the surrounding terrain. “This terrain is not suited for an ambush,” she reported. “Perhaps they were aware of our approach. They might have retreated into the mines.”

  Varen considered the possibility. “If they feared a raid and were concerned about numbers, they might retreat into the mines where they have the advantage,” he concluded.

  “We’ll have a more difficult time,” Jillian said. “There has to be an endless number of places to hide in there.”

  “You’re right,” Varen said. “However, we still have firearms, and they’ve only got swords and bows.”

  Jillian smirked. “I dare say I could kill every one of these soldiers with a bow and a sword.”

  Varen gave her a stern look, ready to level a rebuke, but he relented. “Not everyone is as gifted as you, my love,” he said.

  He surveyed the yard again before coming to a final decision. Varen turned to the men immediately behind him. “Pass the word: they know we’re here. Everyone goes into the mines. Remember not to kill the slaves.”

  Quietly, Varen’s message made its way through the line of soldiers stretching back along the mountain pass. The rebel leader moved on, descending toward the quarry along the single well-worn path. Jillian followed, as well as the soldiers.

  When they reached the quarry pit below, Varen motioned for them to fan out. Jillian remained close to him. She wasn’t going to risk losing Varen again if she could help it. No one would touch him while she was near.

  Their group passed through the quarry pit. Still no one appeared; no guards, no slaves. Varen paused again, listening. Nothing. But if they were hiding, waiting to ambush them inside the mines then, of course, they wouldn’t make any noise. He knew it was risky to proceed, but he still had the better force to contend with. They were well trained and much better armed. It was now or never.

  Varen waved them on, leading the way as he passed beneath the tall stone arch that led into the underground city where he had been born and raised. Darkness enveloped them almost immediately. Further on, lamps lit the corridors, but there were still many places to hide. He pushed deeper into the makeshift city.

  The cavern opened up into a massive chamber where many walkways crossed above. Ore carts and trolleys sat unmanned upon various lines of track. No one leaped out to ambush them. No attack came. Varen paused again as his soldiers filed through the narrow entry corridor into the vast chamber where he was standing.

  “We should have seen someone by now,” Varen said.

  Jillian kept walking. “I’ve found someone,” she whispered to Varen.

  He came immediately. A male slave had been thrust through with a sword. He did not look long dead. Varen looked around. He didn’t see any other bodies evident.

  “Surely, the guards wouldn’t have killed all of the slaves,” Varen said.

  “If they thought the mines were going to be liberated?”

  Varen’s mind ran with the thought. It was too horrifying a possibility. He couldn’t let them all be killed at the moment when he had come to set them free.

  “Come on!” he said. We’ve got to get to the main camp before it’s too late!”

  Varen ran through the cavernous chamber, knowing from memory exactly which of many corridors he should take in order to get to the camp where the slaves had their hous
ing. Jillian followed with her knives ready to kill any guards who came at them. The soldiers brought up the rear, running three abreast in this wider tunnel, guns loaded and ready.

  Varen’s path ran through a myriad of twists and turns, intersecting tunnels and chambers until, finally, they arrived within a massive cavern where small homes had been carved out of the rock itself. The rebel leader nearly choked when he laid eyes on the scene. Hundreds lay dead before them of every age and gender.

  Jillian gasped next to him. Even a warrior such as herself was not used to such a grisly sight. The slaves had not simply been killed. They had been mutilated. Varen tried to calm the anger welling within him. “How could they have done this?” he managed.

  He walked among the dead, not entirely sure what course of action to take. The guards had evidently slaughtered the slaves and then abandoned the mines. He just couldn’t figure out why. No matter. They could not have been gone very long. The torches and lamps were still lit throughout the entire cavern.

  Jillian took another path through the carnage, as did some of the other soldiers. Had they come so far for nothing?

  “What will we do now?” one of the men asked.

  Varen shot him a warning glare but did not answer. Jillian continued her investigation. What she found puzzled her. Apparently the slaves had not gone down without a fight. The grisly remains of several guards were scattered before her among the slaves.

  “Varen!” she called. “You should see this.”

  Varen walked through bodies until he made his way to her. “What is it?” he began to say. Then he noticed the uniforms. “Guards? But the slaves could not have done this to them, could they?”

  “Look,” one of the soldiers said, “there are more of them over here away from the slaves.”

  Jillian continued her search and quickly found many more, as did the others.

  “They all killed each other?” Varen asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Jillian said, returning to his side. “Nearly everyone has been mutilated. This is not the work of butchers, but of mad men.”

  Varen looked into her eyes and found the answer. “Death walkers?” he whispered.

  Jillian nodded then cast her wary gaze around the cavern, searching. “We must leave immediately,” she said.

  Varen started back then stopped short. “It’s too late.”

  MADNESS

  Traveling through the Urtah Mountains had left us quite cold riding back in the back of the train in a metal boxcar. But at least we had good company in Andrea and more stories to tell than time. I found this former wraith dancer turned bodyguard to be far removed from the traitor that Agnes had hated so much when we first found her in Felonius’s employ. If anything, she reminded me of Zora, my Elder Mother.

  The train lurched as the squealing brakes were applied, slowing the train down dramatically.

  “What’s happening?” Tobias asked. “Why are we stopping?”

  Andrea stood up. “I’m not sure,” she said. “Felonius planned to travel through the mountains without stopping.”

  I crossed the car to the sliding door and looked ahead, hoping to see where we were. On the tracks ahead of us sat another locomotive. “There’s another train on the tracks!”

  Andrea and Tobias joined me at the door. On this side of the train, there was no room to jump out. The mountain dropped away steeply. “We’ll have to go over the top,” I said.

  Andrea nodded as we turned and started up the ladder. Andrea went first, then Tobias, and me following. We crossed the tops of the boxcars, heading toward the engine as our train came to a gradual stop just behind the other train. No one appeared to be with the other locomotive. It was just sitting there.

  By the time we made it across the train to the engine, Felonius was out of his comfortable passenger car along with several other people who had been riding with him. An elder man was walking back to us from the other train. It took me a moment to realize who it was. Tobias knew him immediately.

  “Arthur!” he called.

  He looked up, found Tobias coming down from the top of the train just behind the engine, and brightened immediately. “Tobias, my boy!” I thought I would never see you again.” He spotted me coming down behind him. “Well, young woman, I see you’ve come back to us. Good, good! And where is Ezekiah?”

  Tobias broke the news to him. I couldn’t manage it. My control over my anger slipped every time I thought of him killed by Varen. Arthur took the news better than I had, but he kept asking if we were sure; that it just didn’t make sense to him.

  Once Felonius realized that Arthur was connected to the other train, he jumped into the conversation, taking over.

  “You there!” Felonius bellowed. “Get this heap out of the way! We must get to Urth posthaste.”

  “Who are you?” Arthur asked.

  “Felonius, a prince of Tarris,” he replied. “Now, get moving, old man.”

  Two soldiers appeared behind Arthur, carrying guns. “I don’t think we can oblige you, Prince of Tarris,” one of them said, pointing the weapon at Felonius.

  Felonius only smiled. “Really? Andrea, show this brute some manners.”

  But Andrea didn’t move; a fact that let the air out of Felonius’s bluster.

  “What’s going on here, Arthur,” I asked.

  “Varen and his woman have taken at least two hundred soldiers into the mines of Urtah,” he said. “They mean to overthrow the guards and free the slaves in order to add them to his army.”

  “How long have they been gone?” I said, drawing my sword.

  “Several hours now, but we’ve yet to hear any gunfire from the quarry,” Arthur said.

  “Put that butter knife away, young miss, or I’ll blow a hole through you,” one of the soldiers threatened. The other kept his gun pointed at Felonius.

  “Do you know who I am?” I asked the soldier.

  “We know what you are,” the other soldier said.

  I hadn’t even noticed Andrea go missing until she appeared behind the soldier with his gun trained on Felonius. She kicked the other soldier’s gun up away from me before disarming the one from behind. I took my cue, immediately calling for speed through the gifts. I pounced on the soldier, disarming him and knocking him unconscious in one move. Andrea dropped the other man to the ground having done the same.

  “Wonderful,” Arthur said. “What talent you ladies have. Now, we can take both trains and escape.”

  “No, we can’t,” I said.

  “But why not?” Felonius objected.

  I stepped in front of Felonius, dropping the rifle as I raised my sword. “Because I have unfinished business with Varen.”

  Ezekiah looked through his spyglass toward the sea in the distance. He could see nothing beyond the dense fog that remained in place about a mile out. This fog bank was a permanent fixture, the stuff of legends. No matter the weather elsewhere, it remained.

  Before them lay a vast stretch of open field that would carry them down to a thin stretch of forest just before they reached the beach. Donavan sat in his saddle beside Ezekiah as their horses drank from a freshwater pond and grazed by its banks.

  “See anything, yet?” he asked.

  “Nothing but the sea and the fog,” Ezekiah reported.

  “I don’t suppose Elithias has changed your mind as to our course."

  Ezekiah dropped the spyglass, closing it in order to replace it within his coat. He looked over at Donavan, smiling. “No,” he said. “Sorry.”

  “Never mind,” Donavan said. “Just because we can’t see the road ahead, doesn’t mean Elithias can’t.”

  Ezekiah smiled more broadly now. “Well put, my friend. Let’s be on our way.”

  To the disappointment of their horses, they set off again away from the edge of the pond with its cool water and tall grasses. Further on they went, riding faster, making good time, though they had no idea for what reason or to what destination.

  I had only been able to enlist the
help of Andrea and Tobias in going after Varen and Jillian. We knew the forces that were present with them. Still, we hoped to have an edge as they fought with the forces left with the mines to guard the slaves. They would not lay down their lives easily.

  Andrea had no investment in this matter, but she was willing to side with me. I realized that it was obviously a matter of friendship. Regardless, I was willing to accept her help. I would need her with Jillian involved.

  We ran down the path toward the quarry, leaving Felonius with Arthur. They were deciding how best to arrange for one train to go on while Arthur waited for us to return. The elder associate of Ezekiah had vowed not to leave without us, regardless of the risk of Varen and Jillian returning to take him and the train again.

  Personally, I was glad to hear that the fat man wasn’t going to wait on his former bodyguard to return. Andrea had made it quite clear that she wasn’t taking orders from him anymore. She had paid her debt to him a hundred fold by now. Felonius was at least wise enough not to argue with her. When we left, he was in a huff about switching trains and the loss of the more comfortable passenger car.

  Varen and Jillian stayed close to one another as death walkers flew into the fray with their soldiers from every available corridor, hole and shadow within the cavernous chamber that had, until recently, housed the entire population of slaves working the mines.

  Gunfire blazed in every direction one looked as walkers flooded into the chamber in ever increasing numbers. Jillian stuck to her long fighting knives, delving as deeply into the Gifts of Transcendence as she ever had. She cut down another two walkers leaping simultaneously at Varen from behind. Varen carved a gap in the advancing horde with a machine gun, only to have it fill up almost instantly with fresh death walkers.