The Phoenix King: The Thunderheart Chronicles Book 2 Read online

  Slowly, hellhounds came slinking into the town. It seemed as if they had been hiding on the outskirts, waiting to see who would emerge victorious.

  These are your pets, Executioner said. Feed them and care for them, and they will guard you as closely as I will.

  Timothy smiled and pointed to Garret.

  “That man killed the love of my life. He’s all yours, but make it slow. And protect the witch, she has done no harm.”

  He turned around and walked away as the dogs fell upon the screaming Garret. He felt Aaliyah catch his arm.

  “Timothy, where are you going? We have to wait for Aidan.”

  “No,” the boy said. “We don’t. He’ll be fine without us. I have thirteen targets on this crystal, and I plan to kill them all. I think you’ll be interested in the first.”

  “Who?” Aaliyah asked.

  “Your former owner. James Ferrow.”

  Aaliyah’s eyes narrowed.

  “Where is that monster?”

  “He was in Aranumis when he used the crystal. If we leave now, we can be there before the day is up.”

  “I have a griffin,” Aaliyah said. “Though I guess it’s yours now.”

  Timothy nodded and followed Aaliyah into the forest. As they walked, he could hear Garret’s screams echoing from the village. He looked down at his bloody hands. He knew he should feel guilty. And sad. But he couldn’t. All he could feel was rage. The words of Kyra’s first prophecy came to his mind. The Guardian will fall, the Dark Angel will rise. Timothy gently touched his soulrock. The Guardian had never been Aidan, it had been Eleanor. The one who guarded him, both his magic and his soul. And now that she had fallen, the Dark Angel had risen.

  Timothy closed his eyes. The people who did this would pay. They would pay with their lives.

  ***

  Kyra woke up to the sound of screaming. She rolled over and saw six massive hellhounds on top of a man, tearing him to pieces. The witch pulled out her knife and charged them, yelling.

  The beasts fell away before her. They didn’t resist or attack, they just stood at a distance and growled at the man she had saved. Kyra was startled to see that it was Garret, only now his eyes were normal and brown.

  He laughed weakly. “How ironic that I was sent here to kill Tara and her boys four hundred years ago, and now it is one who bears a piece of Tara’s soul that will take my life.”

  Kyra gripped her knife tighter. No one, not even Garret, deserved to be eaten alive by hellhounds.

  “Who did this?” she asked.

  “The new Angel,” Garret said. “I was not wrong. There is darkness inside that boy. I am glad I will not be alive to see what he does with his new power.”

  “Timothy,” Kyra said. “Eleanor is …”

  “Dead. And he plans to avenge her.”

  The old man coughed up some blood.

  “I need you to end my suffering,” he said.

  Kyra numbly put her knife to the left side of his throat. In all the years that she’d imagined killing Garret, she’d never once thought she may be doing it as a mercy.

  “Wait,” he said. “Kyra, I know I’ve wronged you. I’ve slain your family twice. So I owe you some advice before I go.”

  He grimaced before continuing.

  “You’re not like these people. You’re not like us. You weren’t born with magic, your only gift is the occasional prophecy that has never done you any good. You’re just a normal girl who’s entered a very, very dangerous game. And the other players are gods. Get out while you still can.”

  Garret leaned his head over so Kyra could better see his vital arteries. “Okay, I’m ready. Do it.”

  The witch closed her eyes.

  “Goodnight, Garret,” she said.

  Then she slashed his neck.

  ***

  Aidan steered the wyvern toward the ground. His heartbeat had been doing flip-flops the entire journey, and the magic that he had been following wasn’t making any sense. Timothy had disappeared twice, and then it seemed like he was somewhere really, really far south. In the end Aidan had put The Phoenix Ring back on to drown out the noise.

  The wyvern landed in the town square. There was a lot of blood spread all over the ground. A dead, mangled body that Aidan barely recognized as Garret lay on one side of the square. Kyra leaned against a crudely set up gallows, sobbing into her arms. She looked up as he jumped down from his griffin, and to his surprise ran to him and hugged him.

  “Eleanor,” he said. He didn’t have time to try to translate right now.

  Kyra shook her head, and Aidan felt like a hole opened in his chest.

  “Timothy? Aaliyah?” he asked.

  Kyra pointed south.

  “Revenge,” the witch said.

  Aidan’s fist clenched. He felt like no matter what he did, he was always one step behind.

  “We have to find them, and I don’t know how to track them,” he said.

  Kyra pointed behind the wyvern. A large shadowy creature stood there, sniffing the air. The Black Dog.

  “How the heck did that thing follow me all the way—oh, never mind,” Aidan said.

  He ran to the wyvern and pulled himself onto its back, and Kyra came up after him. The saddle was really only designed for one person, so they were squashed together, and Kyra had nothing to hold onto but Aidan.

  “Let’s go,” Aidan said.

  The Black Dog took off into the woods, moving far faster than any land animal should have been able to. The wyvern flapped its wings once and soared up into the sky, following the ghostly canine on the ground.

  Aidan closed his eyes. Eleanor was dead. Timothy and Aaliiyah were on their own, probably about to walk into a trap. The phoenix egg was sitting in his pocket, completely useless.

  I’ve failed, the wizard thought. I’ve completely failed.

  ***

  Aaliyah and Timothy sat on a hill overlooking a small fort at the where Aranumis met the Southern Lands. It wasn’t nearly as grand as Wyvern’s Roost, but it would be hard to infiltrate. It consisted of a single keep surrounded by a stone wall. A tower rested on each of the four corners, all with ballistae pointed up at the sky. An aerial assault would not be an option, and the ground was patrolled by dozens of soldiers.

  “Are you sure Ferrow is in there?” Aaliyah asked.

  Timothy nodded. “He was this morning when Eleanor’s kill order was sent.”

  Aaliyah glanced at Timothy and shuddered. She didn’t fully understand what happened to him when he took down Garret, but he was definitely different. And not just his eyes. What he had done to the previous Dark Angel was brutal.

  “What’s the plan?” Aaliyah asked.

  “We get into the castle and kill Ferrow,” Timothy said.

  Aaliyah rolled her eyes.

  “As full of details as that plan is, I think we can do better.”

  “Do you have something in mind?” Timothy asked.

  “Yeah. Oldest trick in the amogh arsenal. A false prisoner,” Aaliyah said. “By now Ferrow knows I’m in Aranumis, and I’m sure he wants me dead. Is there any way you can make yourself look and sound more like Garret?”

  Timothy smiled. “I know a few spells. But you’ll have to be careful not to touch my face.”

  “I’ll restrain myself,” Aaliyah said.

  “I’ll start working on my disguise. See if you can find some rope in that griffin’s saddlebags.”

  The amogh did as he had requested. They were in luck. An extra rope for tying the griffin down had been stashed at the bottom of one of the bags. She cut off what they needed and went back to Timothy. She was impressed to see that he really did look like Garret. Someone who looked too closely would see inconsistencies in his wrinkles and facial lines, but Aaliyah doubted anyone would want to stare at the Dark Angel’s face.

  The amogh tied her hands behind her back with a slip knot that would be easy to escape from. She had to leave behind most of her weapons, but was able to keep two knives concealed on her pe
rson.

  She wasn’t sure how they would get out of the fort once Ferrow was dead. Maybe Timothy could do that thing with his new weapon. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to make it out. She didn’t know how she would be able to look at Aidan, after the way they had parted. And she certainly wasn’t ready to face herself. She knew that choosing to let Eleanor die would haunt her for the rest of her life. Did Timothy even know that she could have chosen to save Eleanor?

  Shut up Aaliyah, she told herself. You’ve got a job to do. You can worry about that later.

  Timothy took her by the arm, none too gently, and led her down the hill toward the gate.

  “You know, if they start speaking in their own language we’re going to die, right?” he asked.

  “If Ferrow’s in charge here, they’ll stick to protocol,” Aaliyah said. “We should be safe. Garret didn’t have much of an accent.”

  They came to the gate, and Timothy called up to the guard.

  “I’ve got a little present for Ferrow. Let me in.”

  “Aye sir!” the guard yelled back.

  A moment later, the gate lifted from the ground. The two walked through the archway and into the main compound. They were met by a single squad of five men. Aaliyah could tell that, unlike Garret’s soldiers, they were covered in Rakka steel armor.

  “You know the protocol. No one sees a council member without armed transport. Not even you, general.”

  “That’s fine,” Timothy said.

  Uh, no its not, Aaliyah thought. Oh well. We can deal with them later.

  They marched up to the keep and made their way inside. The front door opened into a corridor that stretched away to the left and right, but the party kept moving forward. At least it would be easy to remember where the exit was.

  After another corridor, they came to a hall. Light came in through several large windows on the roof, and tables and chairs were stacked against the sides. This was probably a dining area when Ferrow wasn’t busy gloating over his enemies. The wizard sat on a throne in the middle of the room, like a king. He hadn’t changed at all since the last time Aaliyah had seen him, except for his hand. She had cut it off when fleeing from Argentah. Now, his wand had been fixed by a brace to the place where his limb had once been. Aaliyah felt fire rise into her throat, and her cheek stung where he had scarred her.

  “Aaliyah Brennon,” he said. “It’s been a while. I see you recovered well from my last cocktail.”

  “Ferrow,” the amogh replied. “Nice place you got here. Still compensating for something?”

  “Shut up,” Timothy said.

  Aaliyah was surprised to hear her friend speak. He sounded forceful, and his voice was exactly like Garret’s.

  “I’m here to deal, nothing more. I picked this one up with her friends. Most of them are dead; the boy’s being shipped off to Malcommer as we speak. I thought you would appreciate this one.”

  “Of course,” Ferrow said. “And what would you like in return?”

  “This is a conversation that needs to be held in private,” Timothy answered.

  Ferrow waved to his guards, and they left the room.

  “Now. What could the Dark Angel possibly want from me? You have gold, land, and power far beyond what I could give you.”

  “Your support,” Timothy said. “I plan to make a move in the council. I want your vote.”

  It was all Aaliyah could do to keep from smiling. Timothy was doing really well.

  “Interesting,” Ferrow said. “Well, you didn’t have to bring me this amogh to ensure that. I would have done it for a bronze coin. The old leadership is getting … well, old. You have my full support. Now please, leave the girl here. I won’t keep you, I know you are a very busy man.”

  Timothy hesitated for a moment, but Aaliyah nudged him to keep going. It would be better if she could get closer to Ferrow before making her move.

  The young warlock shoved her to the floor and turned to leave. When he was almost at the door when Ferrow started speaking again. “Of course, there is one thing wrong with all of this.”

  Aaliyah’s blood turned to ice. Timothy turned around slowly.

  “And what might that be?” he asked.

  “Garret had a crossbow. You wield a sword.”

  Aaliyah didn’t hesitate. She jumped to her feet, dropping the ropes and unsheathing her knives. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Timothy draw his sword.

  “Luxilus,” Ferrow said.

  A blinding light erupted from his wand. Aaliyah had to cover her face, but Timothy fell to the floor screaming.

  “It’s messy when the light and the darkness touch,” Ferrow said. “Kopismila!”

  Aaliyah’s ability kicked in again. She could see a knife flying straight at Timothy. This time the blade wasn’t made of magic. It was real. And if Aaliyah knew Ferrow at all, it was poisoned.

  No, she thought. I won’t let another of my friends die.

  The amogh leapt in front of the blade. It slammed into her shoulder and stuck there. Before she hit the ground she felt poison running through her body with excruciating effectiveness. She tried to stand, but immediately fell on her back.

  “I’ve perfected my formulas since we last met,” Ferrow said. “No one can cure you but me. Not even the elves. Now I will let that poison run its course unless you tell me something.”

  The wizard walked up to her and grabbed the knife. The vein on his left temple pulsed with anger.

  “Where is Aidan Rune?” he said through gritted teeth.

  He twisted the handle. Aaliyah couldn’t help but scream. Her voice, though, was quickly drowned out by another. A roar, somewhere between a bird and a dragon. A wyvern’s cry.

  Ferrow, Timothy, and Aaliyah looked up at the ceiling. The amogh’s eyes widened. A massive blue serpent spiraled toward the glass.

  “Son of a—”

  The creature slammed into the roof. The entire top of the hall came down, and Aaliyah’s world descended into chaos.

  ***

  Flying a wyvern was nothing like flying a griffin. Griffins Aidan could handle. They were like sky horses, only a whole lot smellier and moodier. Wyverns, though, were trained for combat. Flying the beast to the village had been easy enough. Up, down, left, and right, just like a griffin. But as they approached the fort that the Black Dog had led them to, a ballista bolt whizzed past. The Wyvern sensed the danger and suddenly stiffened.

  Aidan swiftly learned that the beast responded differently to certain gestures when in combat. Now what had once been left caused the beast to roll, almost dumping its passengers, and what had once been up made the wyvern speed forward.

  Two more bolts flew toward the sky serpent. Aidan tried to dodge them, but the wyvern ended up doing a barrel roll. The two riders gripped onto the saddle and neither fell off, though there was a fair amount of screaming as the world turned upside down. After that the wyvern seemed to realize that its rider was completely incompetent and took matters into its own claws. Aidan was fine with that.

  First the beast dove towards a ballista, then pulled up at the last second to strike the giant crossbow with its tail. Before the soldiers on the other three towers could react, it turned and used its massive head to smash a second.

  At this point the other two ballista crews seemed to understand the hopelessness of their situation and ran from their towers. The wyvern let out a roar of triumph and hurled itself through the roof of the keep.

  Aidan and Kyra rolled off of the creature and onto the broken glass and rubble. The sky serpent immediately took off, apparently happy to be free of its ignorant passengers.

  How did I survive that? Aidan asked himself.

  “Aidan, over here!”

  It was Aaliyah’s voice, coming from behind a pile of fallen rocks. The wizard got up and ran to the sound. He felt for his wand, but it was gone, probably lost in the fall. When he saw his friends, his heart fell. Timothy was on the ground, moaning as he held his face. Aaliyah was propped up against a wall,
a knife lodged in her shoulder. Standing above them both was a man Aidan had never hoped to see again.

  “Rune,” Ferrow said. “I was just asking about you.”

  Aidan felt magic rise up in his chest. Ferrow had once promised to take from Aidan what he considered most valuable. The young wizard was not about to let that happen.

  Ferrow raised his wand and said a spell. Aidan couldn’t hear what the attack was, but that didn’t matter. He instinctively brought up his hand and shouted out a universal defensive curse.

  “Mahor eslang!” Magic be not.

  Aidan felt a burning sensation on his forehead. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he was becoming a warlock. Though now that he had already performed magic as an Ancient’s son, reaching the highest tier of sorcery felt almost trivial.

  Ferrow was backed against the wall by the force of the curse. Aidan could hear him shouting out spells, but the wizard simply couldn’t stand under the might of a warlock’s curse.

  Very quickly, Ferrow ran out of magic and fell forward onto his hands and knees, next to Aaliyah. Aidan released his curse.

  “It’s over,” Aidan said. “You’ve lost.”

  Ferrow smiled, then started to laugh.

  “I think you’re mistaken, boy. While you’ve been here on your little excursion, Malcommer has been moving fast. He’s in Gurvinite. By this time, he’s probably reached Argentah. Allenna won’t be far behind.”

  “You’re lying,” Aidan said.

  “I’m not,” Ferrow replied. “While you’ve been sightseeing, your country has fallen. And for what? An unhatched phoenix egg? Garret has already executed one of your party, and that amogh will soon join her. You’ve failed, Aidan. All you’ve done is earn yourself a new nickname with the soldiers: the Demon.”

  Rage flared up inside Aidan, but he pushed it down. Now was not the time.

  “What do you mean, ‘the amogh will join her’?” Aidan asked.

  “Poison,” Aaliyah panted.

  She was dripping in sweat, and there was a lot of blood coming from the wound in her shoulder. “Ferrow has the cure,” Timothy said. He seemed to slowly be recovering from whatever the one-handed sorcerer did to him.