Prologue
The cell was clean and carved out of the mountain stone. The bars of the door were made of a steel that Malificent had never seen before. None of her spells worked on them, which infuriated her. Unlike Rangor and the Wolf King, who had managed to escape, Malificent was to suffer the consequences for her crimes against the people of the south. The Guardians would be placing her on trial and making sure that justice was seen through to its very end. She had expected mistreatment, harassment or worse at the hands of her goalers. That had not been the case .She knew what she would have done, hence her surprise that when given food it was edible and the water sweet to drink . She was given dignity and privacy which was the complete opposite given to prisoners of the Dark lords. She was not sure what their plan was, whether they thought she would break from kindness. She had expected torture and demands of where the others had fled, but none was forth coming.She was being held for her own crimes; they were enough for a death sentence. The crimes of the others were none of her concern.
She had lost count of how long she had been in her cell when she received an unexpected visitor. A tall man in the robes of one of the Guardian councillors appeared before the cell bar doors and regarded her for a long moment with a distinct look of distaste. He addressed a couple of the guards, and then after a moment was gone. Not a word was uttered towards her; she did notice something was left behind. It must have been while he was distracting the guards. Careful so as not to give herself away, she stole up towards the door and slipped a hand through the bars to fish up a brown leather bag. It would have gone unnoticed had she not spotted the glitter of silver on the cord in the firelight. Quickly, she withdrew into the shadows of her cell and emptied the bag. With a soft clang, the cell key fell into the palm of her hand. Her suspicions had been correct then; there was someone working for the dark ones among the Guardian ranks. A little smile stole over her lips as fingers closed over the key.
Malificent waited a day, counting the times the guards changed over and when the food was brought in. She was going to make sure she got out, even if that meant killing a few of these fools along the way. Dargoth wasn’t the only dark one of his kind in this world. She carefully checked her clothing and hidden pockets . The Guardian’s had searched her but hadn’t been able to find all of her concealed weapons and little tricks. A small knife slid out of a hidden compartment in the heel of her boot, which would be more than enough for the moment. With careful steps, she moved to the cell door and reached through the bars to insert the key into the lock. With a soft click, the door opened, and she was able to step out just as the new guard arrived. For a moment, she simply stood in the hallway, unsure of what to do .When the four Guardians drew their swords and charged, she leapt into action. She dove for their feet, rolling under them and knocking them down in the process. Quickly she rose and met the first Guardian to do likewise; she gutted him, then grabbed his sword and impaled the second upon its blade. Snatching back both sword and dagger, she threw the small knife at the third, embedding it into his forehead and lunged quickly, stabbing the final guard. All of this was done in a matter of seconds and without a sound being made. With a slow step, she moved to retrieve her small dagger, wiping the blood off onto the sleeve of her tunic. She turned then and bolted for the stairs that would lead her up out of the bowls of the mountain that Ramoth was built into.
With quick steps, she ran through corridors and up staircases. It seemed almost endless until she reached a great hall full of Guardians who had gathered for their daily meal. There was immediate silence as she felt herself being stared at by hundreds of sets of eyes. The look on their face was pure disbelief, which made her grin slightly. Like sleepwalkers awakening, they then charged with whatever they could get their hands on. Malificent however, was armed with a dagger and a sword; she was not to be dissuaded from her goal when it was so close. Guardians challenged her, and many fell by the blade in her hand. Once she reached the other hall doorway, she bolted up another flight of stairs that led out onto a dragon landing pad. Half a dozen Guardians followed, shouting for her to halt and put down her blades. She would not be so cooperative this time around. Leaping onto the outer ledge, she turned and watched as Sir Krammer ran out onto the dragon landing. She grinned a bit as she could only guess how frustrated he was going to be once she jumped. Lifting a hand, she gave a mocking salute before stepping backwards and dropping off the ledge. A couple of minutes later, she rose up upon the back of a large, winged beast. Her mocking laughter echoed off the mountainside before she jerked the reins and sent the creature flying north over the mountains of Drakebare.
***
Many a good guardian had been slaughtered in Malificent’s escape. Sir Krammer stared off in the direction she had fled. His hands clenched into fists.
“I would say that is our cue to act.”A voice spoke from his left.
Soryn turned to regard someone he had not seen in quite some time. He offered a slight smile as he gripped the hand of Samuel and gave a nod of his head.“Indeed. I am heading to Shari. I have to get Serreria to begin her tour of the kingdoms. They grow impatient and are no longer willing to wait until she has regained her memories.”
Samuel gave a nod of his head as he folded his arms over his chest.“The Shepherd King asked me to keep an eye on things here. He has a keen interest in Serreria’s story and how it pans out. Do you want me to send out scouts to keep tabs on our escapee?”
Krammer smirked dryly.“If you wouldn’t mind. I highly doubt that the Ramoth Council would take issue with you helping run the show while I’m down there.”He turned to adjust his focus from the northern mountains to the lands that spread out in the south, full of forests, farms, a beautiful lake and a wealth of races.“Let me know if you find anything out about where she is headed.”
Samuel gave a nod of his head. He looked rather different compared to his comrade. Once upon a time, he had worn the uniform of the Guardians of the Black Watch. However, in the wars of Hymbroli, he had caught the eye of the Shepherd King and gained an invitation to join the Lightbearers. While it had taken him away from friends and family, he had not regretted his decision once.“Don’t you worry, I have faith you’ll guide Serreria’s feet. And I’ll do my best to keep trouble from reaching her too soon.”He shifted on his feet; his pale armour glimmered a little in the torchlight. Showing off the polished metal, the silver runes engraved along the edges and the chain mail that was worn beneath the armour plating. It looked heavy but was surprisingly light, which enabled Samuel to be swift on foot. His long grey hair was neatly brushed back and tied back in pony tail with a bit of white cloth.“See you soon, old friend.”He stated after a moment.
Krammer gave a slight nod of his head and left the dragon landing pad. He headed down into the Fortress, finding his way to the stables where the Destriders were kept. It wasn’t long before he was saddling up his mount and riding out. The main gates to Ramoth opened onto a steep winding path that wound down through the hills into a valley, from here he urged his warbeast into a swift gallop across the Dilbare plains as he headed for the shores of the Lake of Shimmering.
***
A soft shuffling in the darkness awoke the Wolf King.He could not see; it seemed to be so black where he was. His body was full of lancing pain from the many stab wounds he had suffered at the hands of that rebellious little wolf cub. She would rue the day she turned on him. He struggled to reach out to her mind so he could torment her with his pain, but he felt emptiness. Had she died in the final battle of Drakebare? The shuffling sound caught his attention again. He focused his full attention to try and decipher who or what else was in the darkness with him .He could now hear voices quickly whispering to his right, and smell incense burning in the air.“Where am I?” he growled out huskily .His voice sounded weaker than he had anticipated.
“You are in a den.”Rangor hissed and slowly approached the bed where the Wolf King lay. He bent down and smirked as he noted that while his once proud leader seemed aware, he did not seem in command of all of his faculties yet.“Wolf Riders smuggled us out of the Fortress of Drakebare during the battle, my lord. We are safe for a time.” He tilted his hooded head slightl,y then motioned towards a woman in wolf skin over.“Keep tending to his injuries. Make sure he does not get up.”
“Where is the army? We must…”
“There is no longer we,” Rangor stated with a dry smirk. Right now, he had little to fear from the Wolf King. He had no power right at this moment, and he would take full advantage of that fact.“The wolf riders obey me; you are simply alive because I wish it so.”He turned away from the dark lord laying bandaged in the bed. He was weak and at their mercy, Rangor would now enjoy full power over all who had served the Wolf King.
“Why don’t you kill him while you have the chance?” a cold voice echoed softly about the room as Malificent entered. She was feeling refreshed after her flight and a delightful hot bath before changing into clean attire. With a slow step, she approached the bed and glanced down upon the once powerful warlord.“We have no more need of your warmongering ways, princeling.”
Dargoth clenched a fist and hissed in fury at their treacherous words.“Beware, witch, my father will not take well to my demise. I trust you have taken the Emperor into account for your actions.”He gnashed his teeth; he despised this sense of helplessness. He had pressed it upon others so many times that he had never considered what it might feel like himself.
Malificent waved a hand in dismissal as she drawled out lightly.“The emperor may well approve of what we have done. You’re not the only one to be wondering this world on his behalf.”She grinned when Dargoth struggled with the bonds that kept him in the bed. She wagged a finger softly and lightly slapped him in the face.“Behave, I think I will agree to Rangor’s plan for the moment. I am feeling a little generous of spirit right now.”She swung around to look at the dark twisted Krysalith and walked slowly up to him. Reaching out she lightly touched the scarred side of his face as she met his red-eyed gaze.“Shall we call a truce for now?”
Rangor scowled as he had not expected Malificent to return into the picture. He had hoped the Guardians would deal with her. Nonetheless, she might prove useful to his scheme yet again.“Very well.”He nodded his head slightly before grabbing her wrist and drawing her hand away from his cheek.“I want the Dragonchild.”He hissed.
Malificent grinned a little and drew her hand free of his grip. He wanted to be told the girl was dead. He wanted to close the chapter on that particular brat. Unfortunately, she could sense the girl was alive but proving to be elusive.“We will get her, my dear.No more hiding.”She lifted her hands and lowered her hood, dropping the cloak to reveal body-hugging leather attire. Her eyes flashed golden a moment as she lifted her chin slightly.“I am her sister, after all, and I’ve come to kill her.”A dry little smile stole over her lips.“The games are over; it’s time she died permanently.”She turned then and strode out of the room, followed by Rangor.
Dargoth let out a hiss from where he lay, angry that he had been betrayed so. He was also surprised that he had not sensed Malificent’s true heritage before. She was of his race, but she had hidden herself even from him. She claimed she was sent by his father, again, he felt as if his father had never truly trusted him. Of course, the Emperor would be foolish to trust such a power-hungry young son. Dargoth ground his teeth, then forced himself to calm. He needed to sleep to heal and regenerate. Once he regenerated, his powers would be restored, and he would make those two pay for what they had just done. The Dragon child belonged to him! She was his to deal with as he saw fit! With a great deal of effort, he closed his eyes and slowly let his breath out, easing himself into a much-needed healing sleep.
