Serpent Kings Saga (Omnibus Edition) Page 44

  He wouldn’t bother with the guards just now. Let them sleep. He had more important matters to deal with. Marco swept forward with his army of thousands following him through the streets. The royal palace stood in the distance. Its electric lights were lit in some places. But, for the most part, all was dark in the city. No one walked the streets.

  Marco paused to speak with his captains. “We’ll take the palace first. Once we have the queen captive we can secure the surrender of the rest of the city.”

  He dispersed them to various quarters of the royal compound then took one hundred men with him. He knew where the royal suites were. This place had long been his home during his youth. Now, Marco intended to reclaim his heritage.

  Marco swept through the palace with ease, his men keeping silence as much as possible. Strangely, they found no guards on duty. Still, he didn’t wait to investigate why that should be. The queen was the most important issue to deal with now.

  He and his men made their way cautiously through the palace corridors until Marco brought them to the royal suite. No guards stood by the door. Ezekiah’s conceit knew no bounds. They didn’t even fear to be left to themselves while they slept. It would be the last mistake any of them ever made.

  Marco kicked the door in, running through with guns blazing. He swept the room with gunfire flanked by as many of his men as would fit inside the door with him. The royal bedchamber was pocked with bullet holes in seconds. The royal bed was chewed to shreds as machine guns tore through the four poster frame, the mattresses and finely crafted quilts. However, when the smoke cleared and the lights were turned on, no bodies could be found.

  An investigation of the other rooms in the royal suite corridor produced similar results. No one was home. Bewildered, Marco ordered the entire palace searched. Still, not a soul could be found within the entire compound. Captains and their men were dispatched across the city. Each one came back with the same astonishing report. No one could be found. The city had been abandoned for some reason.

  Marco entered his father’s throne room at last, having lit the entire palace. No clues as to their sudden departure could be found. Marco approached the throne where his father had judged the inhabitants of Haven and beyond. The throne looked exactly the same as it had hundreds of years ago when Riven lived.

  Marco sat down upon the throne and exhaled. This was what he had waited so long for. Perhaps the widowed queen had heard of his approach from Ellis, though he had no idea how they could have found out. He and his army had encountered no one along the way.

  Finally, after puzzling over the matter for nearly a half hour, Marco sat back laughing to himself. Not a drop of blood shed, but Haven was his. When his captains all finally came to make final reports of their findings he would have them finish securing the palace compound and the entire city beyond. If some ambush awaited him, he would be ready. Now that Haven’s throne belonged to its rightful owner again, Marco had no intention of relinquishing his control again.

  While soldiers spread through Haven’s streets, intending to solidify their control over the city, bright flickering lights appeared from the thick clouds above. Streaking down from the sky, leaving trails of smoke in their wake, thousands of meteorites descended upon the royal city by the sea. Each hurtling space rock was white hot, weighing several tons, approaching at supersonic speed.

  In seconds, Haven was ripped to pieces as fiery trails and molten rock ravaged the city; the very largest projectiles plowing through the royal palace itself. Of Marco’s army not even one survived the heavenly assault.

  REVELATION

  Gwen marched ahead of the citizens of Haven across the Mahalia Plain. Flood waters from a tributary joining with the Highborn had forced their congregation to leave the canals for higher ground. Since Tobias had warned her that Elithias would show them the proper time to stop following the river, she took it as divine providence.

  Her matrons had attempted to have her ride on horseback before leaving the city, but Gwen thought it impractical considering their route. Besides, she had thought, I will not ride in leisure while my people are forced to trudge along the entire way on foot. Andrea and a third of the High Guard walked immediately behind her while the remaining warriors brought up the rear behind Haven’s thousands of citizens who had obeyed their regent queen’s proclamation to abandon the city.

  The matter had not gone over well, and some had been forced to leave under duress. In the end most had obeyed the command. Still, some had chosen to remain, and Gwen had no time to force those who were willing to fight for their right. She had put these few stubborn fools out of her mind almost immediately in order to attend to the rest of Haven’s citizens. Those obstinate few were surely dead by now, having disobeyed the prophet’s warning.

  After nearly a half day’s march, they came upon a plentiful water source; the Ladiss River if her memory served. “We’ll make camp here,” Gwen told Andrea. “I’m not sure how far we are meant to go, but this is as good a place as any, and the people need rest.”

  Andrea nodded and passed the word along.

  Despite much complaining and murmuring about why it had been necessary to leave the city at all, a proper camp was established and families delved into the food provisions they had been instructed to bring with them from the city.

  In the late evening the clouds dissipated somewhat, and a full moon became visible. Andrea sat at Gwen’s fire while they ate in silence, staring in the direction of the city by the sea they had been forced to leave.

  “You’ve made the right decision,” Andrea said, breaking the silence between them.

  Gwen looked at her old friend. “I don’t doubt it, Andrea. I only wish I had some plan to work by.”

  Andrea smiled. “There is a plan.”

  “Only not our own,” Gwen added. She looked down at the ring upon her finger. “I only wonder where that plan will take us.”

  Light flashed across the horizon sky, illuminating the distance cloud cover near the sea. Streaking fire came down in the distance like the fingers of God descending from the heavens. Gwen and Andrea looked on in astonished wonder at the sight. Moments later bright flashes popped like fireworks. Fire mushroomed toward the sky in many places. Nearly half a minute later the muffled booms from these massive explosions reached them.

  Cries erupted all over the camp as those still awake at their family campfires realized the dread judgment coming down upon the city they had so long called home. As the cacophony of distant thunder came to its crescendo, silence more complete came over the camp. Heavy hearts looked on, knowing that they were indeed blessed to have received warning. They would all take their rest that evening with a new confidence in their regent queen.

  The next morning, when Gwen arose from sleep, she found Tobias sitting at her fire. She smiled, having hoped that she would see her friend again.

  “Tobias, I’m surprised to see you,” she said.

  He looked up at her with a queer look upon his face. “Really? Why is that?”

  Gwen wasn’t sure how to respond. “Okay, well lately I’m always surprised to see you. We abandoned the city as you instructed, but I’m not sure where we need to go at this point.”

  “You won’t be going anywhere, Gwen,” he said. “You are surrounded on all sides by Shalindra’s army.”

  Immediately, Gwen reverted to her old instincts, searching the hills around them. Sure enough, the prophet of Elithias was right. Before her eyes found the first soldier, she knew it would be true. Tobias was so very like Ezekiah during his former days when he had worn the mantle of prophet to Elithias.

  “What should we do?” she asked.

  Tobias was now standing next to her, observing the hills and the huge army gathered there. He seemed to Gwen to be entirely too calm about the matter. She, on the other hand, was wound like a spring ready to break loose and strike down as many of these rebels as she could manage.

  “Wait for them to come to you,” Tobias said. “Shalindra will surely
seek you out. Be easily found if you wish to spare the lives of your people from a needless battle they are unprepared to fight.”

  Gwen stepped away from him. “You mean I should surrender to this sorceress?”

  Tobias grinned at her in that knowing way prophets had. “I didn’t say that,” he countered. “When you are faced with Shalindra, do what you feel you must.”

  Tobias turned, walking through the camp.

  Gwen called after him. “Will I win?”

  Tobias did not stop but called back to her, “That all depends upon your point of view.”

  That wasn’t the answer she had been hoping for, and she didn’t have time to consider its implications right now. Most of the camp was still asleep, and the army around them had gone unnoticed.

  Gwen grabbed one of the horns used to rally the people from a soldier sleeping nearby. The sun was just beginning to break over the ridge. If common strategy held, her enemy would soon attack.

  She blew that horn loud and clear, raising the camp from its restless slumber in an instant. Citizens of the former Haven roused to the alarming sound, stumbling from tents and wiping sleep from their eyes, searching for the origin of the call. In moments nearly the entire congregation was awake, calling to one another, questioning the matter.

  Then they all heard the battle horns of the surrounding army echoing from the hills around them. As the charge began, bringing them down onto the plain, cries of woe and fear cascaded through camp. Gwen emerged, with Andrea at her side, running toward the obvious leader in the charge.

  Andrea’s weapons were already in her hands; a bow with two arrows nocked to the string. The prophetess, Shalindra, rode ahead of the other rebels on a black stallion running hard with fire in its eyes. Gwen and Andrea watched at the edge of the camp while the High Guard fell in behind them ready to fight. The ordinary citizens of Haven were running about, seeking which direction would allow them to retreat and finding themselves totally outnumbered and surrounded by approaching militia under Shalindra’s command.

  “Shall I strike down this witch?” Andrea asked Gwen. Her bow was taut, ready for release.

  Gwen watched the woman and her stallion galloping toward her. She had been identified by Shalindra by now as the queen standing ahead of the only soldiers in the camp.

  “Her mount only,” Gwen said.

  Andrea released her volley, smiting the horse with both arrows in the breast. The animal screamed and fell out from under Shalindra. The prophetess, slung forward through the air, hit the ground running without faltering. Her staff was held high in her hand as she quickly closed the gap between Gwen and herself.

  Andrea disappeared from beside her queen, using the Shadow Walk to surge forward and attack Shalindra before she could attack Gwen. Shalindra attempted to dodge past her, but Andrea moved with her, pulling her sword and striking out in the same fluid motion.

  Shalindra blocked the move, allowing the blade to bite deeply into the wood of the staff. Feeling the wood crack, the prophetess abandoned the stolen weapon, thrusting her hand toward Andrea with the Ram. Andrea attempted to block the attack, but it carried such overwhelming power that she could barely keep it from crushing her.

  Andrea’s sword flew from her hands as the Ram threw her backwards in a tumble across the ground. She attempted to get up, but Shalindra was already there heaving a powerful kick to her ribs that doubled her over on the ground. The prophetess moved on, approaching the queen at a leisurely pace as her army came to a halt behind her, watching.

  Gwen stood her ground, trying to ascertain what she should do. What had Tobias meant? Should she surrender to this woman? Clearly, this army would wipe out her people if she didn’t do something.

  When Shalindra got a good look at her, she smiled brightly and stopped. “I remember you,” she said.

  Gwen studied the woman’s face, but she was sure. “We’ve never met before, though I’ve heard your name. Shalindra?”

  The prophetess laughed out loud. “This skin owns that name,” she said, “but I’ve been around a lot longer.”

  Gwen hesitated. The fierceness of her eyes, the pride in her voice; she thought she recognized it from somewhere. “Belial?”

  At that same moment, Shalindra burst forward. “Yes!”

  Gwen only had a fraction of a second to react. Her fear became overwhelming in an instant. Then the ring that Ezekiah had bequeathed to her from Elithias came alive in her hand. The silver ring became a sword radiating an impossible amount of light and power. Her fear was vanquished.

  Shalindra, mid-flight toward Gwen, attempted retreat. The sword was swung once, dividing the prophetess in two at the waist. Shalindra fell to the earth in flames, her flesh burning to ash in seconds as her scream died away. From the ashen form, a coil of impossibly black smoke rose, conforming loosely to the shape of a large dragon. The dragon laughed loudly then resolved into the form of a man of incomparable beauty.

  “Freedom!” he cried as bright wings grew from his back, beating the air. “The curse is finally lifted.”

  Gwen retreated, realizing she was in the presence of a mithrial being from the spiritual realm. She found Andrea upon the ground, attempting to get up. “Come, Andrea, we must retreat before he destroys us all.”

  Belial, now in his true form, called down to the followers of Shalindra. “My children, destroy these citizens of Haven as a sacrifice to your god!”

  The rebels, cowering at first, now moved forward to obey the master they had surrendered to worship under Shalindra’s leadership. They raised their swords high and drove forward upon their mounts ready to shed blood in the service of Belial.

  A terrible thunder cascading across the plain stopped them all in their tracks. Above them all, a portal of white light burst open, revealing a glorious city of enormous magnitude. Its gates were open wide, allowing a brilliantly arrayed army to usher forth into the physical world. Riding upon a white mount at the army’s head was a being in the form of a man unlike any other in existence.

  His power emanated in every direction like waves of light that could not be contained. Upon his entrance, every blade of grass tramped by the Havenites and the rebel army sprang to new life. The trees upon the neighboring hills brought forth blossoms of every color imaginable. White clouds hid the sun so that only his magnificent light remained on display for all to see.

  At once everyone present knew exactly who it was that they were witness to. Elithias had come. No one had the luxury of ignorance in his presence. The knowledge was simply there like a secret finally revealed to every mind at once.

  Gwen saw Ezekiah riding upon a white mount behind Elithias. Nearby, Donavan rode another; his gaze resting upon a smiling Andrea. Tears ran down their cheeks at the splendorous sight of them all; thousands upon thousands in a seemingly endless train of horses. Mithrial beings flew above; similar in appearance to Belial himself.

  Belial attempted a swift retreat, but the sound of Elithias’s voice froze him in place before the King of Kings. He could not look away, nor escape.

  “Belial,” he said with a voice like thunder. “Your time is at an end. You are consigned to never ending fire.”

  At once, a white hot flame erupted upon Belial’s form, enveloping him completely. He writhed in agony, still suspended above the ground. His screams pierced every mortal ear. His wailing and his form all faded in seconds as Elithias’s decree banished him to the place of everlasting torment reserved for all those who rebel against his authority.

  Elithias spoke then to Shalindra’s army still holding their ground in dread anticipation. If they had wanted to flee, certainly it was impossible now. Elithias spoke, “I am he!”

  A burst of power ushered forth, encompassing every soldier that had come to do battle with the prophetess and Belial. The flesh peeled from their bones. Their eyes consumed away within their sockets as did their tongues within their mouths. In seconds their bones lay scattered upon the ground resolving to dust blowing away upon the wind.
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  Ezekiah was now at Gwen’s side. His smile pierced her heart. His visage shined like the sun in its radiance. He held her hands within his then embraced her. At once, Gwen felt more alive than she ever had. The clarity of sight and hearing was unbelievable, like being born into a new body.

  She saw herself then as well as those around her. One breath ago, they had been mortal, but now they appeared the same as the army following Elithias: radiant and alive in a way they had never experienced before.

  Knowledge flooded into Gwen’s mind. She knew that all of those people who had left Haven at the command of Elithias’s prophet had done so because of their faith. Those who had resigned to stay had been more in number than she had originally thought. They had not believed the coming judgment foretold and Elithias had allowed them to remain in order to deliver their punishment upon their own heads.

  Gwen laughed at the new insight and glory rushing through her. She felt elated, like a child running through the sunshine for the first time. Ezekiah caught her hand. She smiled.

  “What happens now?” she asked.

  Ezekiah returned her smile. “Much greater things than we ever imagined.”

  BONUS PREVIEW: FALLEN

  DESCENDANTS SAGA BOOK ONE

  Heritage

  Tom and I had been left to ourselves within a sitting room that was comfortably furnished, located adjacent to Mr. Black’s office. He and Mr. Sinister had deferred to it and shut the door behind them. We could hear nothing of the conversation they were having, no doubt regarding my fate.

  Strangely, I began to wonder about what magic Mr. Black might have placed so as to prevent the sound from reaching our ears. The entire house seemed to be permeated with his power and presence. But at this moment, I was far more interested in what I was and what else I could do.

  “Wipe that grin off your face,” Tom scolded from the high back leather chair across from my own.